Dense Urban Environment Presents Unique Challenges

Food delivery to your door is becoming more and more popular, and it's certainly no surprise that drones are working their way into the concept.

In California, Uber Eats is getting set to begin testing delivery of food by drone in a dense urban environment in San Diego. The initial phase of the testing was recently completed at San Diego State University with fast-food giant McDonalds, but other restaurant partners are expected to be added soon.

But the urban environment presents unique challenges. Many residences do not have open spaces where a drone can land to make the delivery, so the "last mile" will have to be completed by more traditional delivery means, according to a report from Tech Crunch. The drone will fly to a predetermined landing zone, where a driver will collect the food and take it to whomever placed the order. Uber's Elevate Cloud System will be used to track the progress of the order.

Eventually, Uber hopes to be able to land its delivery drones on top of a ground vehicle near the end location for transportation over the "last mile" to the customer.

“We’ve been working closely with the FAA to ensure that we’re meeting requirements and prioritizing safety,” Uber Elevate Head of Flight Operations Luke Fischer said in a statement. “From there, our goal is to expand Uber Eats drone delivery so we can provide more options to more people at the tap of a button. We believe that Uber is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge as we’re able to leverage the Uber Eats network of restaurant partners and delivery partners as well as the aviation experience and technology of Uber Elevate.”

(Image provided by Uber)

FMI: Source report