Domino Delivers First Pizza to Customers Using a Drone (Watch Video)
In a brave and innovative gesture, Domino Pizza has left many confounded as it has now made pizza delivery effortless and more efficient by introducing the use of drones.
The company announced today that it delivered its first pizzas to actual customers using drones, after testing the service out this summer in town of Whangaparaoa in New Zealand.
Giving more details, the company revealed that to order a pizza with a drone, a customer has to opt into the service, and can then order online or through the Domino’s app to get the pie they desire.
Right now, Domino’s told Quartz, the drones have a delivery radius of 1.5 km (about one mile) from the Whangaparaoa store, but the company is aiming to expand that to about 10 km (roughly six miles).
The drones travel at 30 kmph (18 mph), and the goal is to be able to eventually provide 10-minute deliveries for pizzas sent by drones for that 10 km radius. Right now, the drone-delivery service is only available at this single Domino’s location, but the company said that it plans to make it available at more New Zealand stores in the future.
The drones themselves are custom models developed by Flirtey using carbon fibre, aluminium and 3D printed components. They’re equipped with a tether to safely lower their cargo into customers’ properties, and include features like the ability to return to their home base or another safe location autonomously in case they’re low on battery power or a loss of their GPS signal.
Watch video below: