Chipotle Might Soon Be Delivering Your Burrito… by Drone
There’s something so satisfying about ordering food and sitting on your couch while it’s made and brought to your door. But the future is now, folks, and this month Alphabet’s Project Wing is testing Chipotle delivery — by drone! The experiment is being carried out at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, and according to Bloomberg is “the most extensive test yet in the US.”
Part of the test is just to see how accurate the drones’ navigation systems are. The drones will be unmanned, but there will be people standing by in case anything goes wrong. Project Wing also wants to assess whether it’s even a good idea to deliver food by drone — for instance, will the packaging protect the food and keep it warm? Nobody wants a cold burrito, even if it is delivered in seriously the coolest way ever.
One aspect that Project Wing isn’t testing (but that will need to be considered if drone projects like this one are to move forward) is how well drones can avoid each other — and people! — in a low-level air traffic system. If we can do it with airplanes, we should be able to do it with drones, but if drone deliveries become as ubiquitous as companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart are hoping, there will be a lot more drones than planes in the sky.
Would you like to get your takeout by drone? Tell us what you think @BritandCo!
(h/t Bloomberg; photos via Steve Dykes/Getty and Alphabet)