Last week, Walmart delivered items to a select group of customers using Zipline, a drone delivery service that operates in the U.S. Deliveries were made within a 50-mile radius of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The big box retailer also partnered with DroneUp, a startup in which it has invested, last summer. The two firms will collaborate to deliver parcels through drone service in Rogers Arizona and Bentonville, Arizona, “in the coming months.”
According to a report in The Verge, DroneUp’s traditional quadcopters will deliver within a radius of one mile from a Walmart store and the locations are in the same region where delivery will be made by Zipline. However, DroneUp will lower packages on cables, rather than dropping them from the sky like Zipline does. Zipline uses an autonomous Zipline plane and drops parachute-laden packages. It has now added Framington Arkansas as a location where it will drop packages.
The Verge reported that Walmart provided a huge selection of essential items that can be delivered by drones. Some of them in the long list include
26-count pack of diapers
buttermilk pancake mix
paper plates
crayons
vitamins
trash bags
scotch tape
basic food items
basic baby items.
Although the list of items that can be delivered is huge, there are weight constraints, as of now. A customer can check out items weighing 4 pounds or less and a $10 delivery fee is applicable. DroneUp says that orders can be delivered from 30 minutes onwards but no delivery time is promised. It also says that each of its hubs can launch multiple flights in an hour.
Last September, Walmart had delivered COVID-19 tests using drones to deliver them during the pandemic. These deliveries were carried by drones in a one-mile radius of Walmart stores in Cheektowaga, New York and North Las Vegas.
The largest employer in the nation is increasing drone deliveries to help its customers get better services as well as to deal with other logistics issues. Walmart has always made an effort to utilize cutting edge technology in its operations and drone delivery is the latest among these services.
