Share to ClassroomUber Eats Plans Drone Food Delivery
Uber and Zipline will work together to deliver Uber Eats food by drone. The first deliveries will start later this year in Dallas and Houston, where Zipline already flies. The companies then plan to reach dozens more American cities. They hope to make one million drone deliveries every day by the end of 2029.
The order begins in the normal way. A customer orders in the app, and the restaurant prepares the food and puts it into Zipline's system. The drone can carry eight pounds and fly ten miles at about 70 miles per hour. It does not land. It stays about 300 feet above the ground. A small unit comes down on a rope and puts the food on the ground. Zipline says this takes about 90 seconds.
Zipline has already made more than 2.7 million commercial deliveries and works with Walmart and some restaurants. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) , the American air safety agency, has allowed some of these flights. But people still worry about noise. Nobody knows the price yet, because the companies have not said if drone delivery will cost more.
