(Image source from: Mumbai pizzeria using drones to deliver pizza})
Next time you order a pizza and don't find a delivery boy but a drone buzzing at your door, don't be surprised. A Mumbai based food outlet is literally taking the concept of home delivery to the next level — just like Dominos and Amazon — by using a drone to deliver its order. Whoa!
Yes, Francesco's Pizzeria in Mumbai became the first ever Indian company to deliver an order (in this case, pizza) using an unmanned drone. The test-flight was conducted on May 11 from the outlet's Phoenix Mill Compound branch, Mumbai.
A four-rotor drone lifted the order from its Lower Parel outlet in central Mumbai and delivered it to a high-rise building in adjacent Worli. This is for the first time that the ubiquitous drone has been used for delivering a pizza in the country. The eatery, which has been in operations for two years, worked on the idea with the help of an auto engineer who made the flight possible.
Apparently, Francesco's Pizzeria chief executive Mikhel Rajani's was deeply inspired by Amazon's recent test-flight of the drone to deliver goods ordered on its online portal. He, along with his friend, Fahad Azad of Robotsoft Systems, put together the copter drone for the test flight. And the result is for all to see.
For the financial capital, infamous for its traffic snarls, a total of 3km distance was covered in mere 10 minutes, which is one-third of the deadline for the delivery. Besides saving time, using drones for door-to-door delivery would save costs for a company like Francesco, which otherwise relies on a two-wheeler borne boys to deliver the pizzas. Replacing delivery boys with drones could bring down the operation costs significantly.
Each customized drone would cost around $2,000 and can carry up to 1 kg of weight. However, the payload capacity could be increased up to 8 kg for a 8-rotor drone.
Pizza outlets and other delivery services, however, might have to wait for sometime until the experiment becomes a reality.
Currently, drones are not allowed to fly above 400 ft altitude. They are also barred from flying over security establishments. Also, technical snags like limited operating radius of 8 km and limited battery life could deter services from trying it out. Having a proper infrastructure like charging stations could help.
So until the time the little snags get resolved, enjoy your free pizza for once the drone-delivery comes into existence, you won't be able to penalize Dominos or Papa Johns for a late delivery. Munch on that!
Meanwhile, check out the video that was shot during the test-ride:
AW: Suchorita Choudhury
