Flirtey and 7Eleven hail home drone delivery
7-Eleven and Flirtey have announced that they have completed the first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer’s residence in the US. According to Flirtey, the delivery marked the first time that a US customer has received a package to their home via drone. Flirtey added that the delivery was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (the body which regulates the use of drones in the US) and undertaken in partnership with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS).
Chris Walach, Director of Operations for NIAS, commented: “This delivery required special flight planning, risk analysis, and detailed flight procedures ensuring residential safety and privacy were equally integrated.”
The tests involved two deliveries that were made from a 7-Eleven store in Reno, Nevada. 7-Eleven goods – including hot and cold food items – were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using GPS to a local customer’s house.
Matt Sweeny, the CEO of Flirtey, told Post&Parcel: “For this delivery, Flirtey worked with a family that was within a one-mile radius of the store from which they planned to deliver. Flirtey drones can of course travel much longer ranges, but this delivery was focused on completing the first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer’s residence to advance research toward integrating drones into the National Airspace System.”
The deliveries and the tie-up with 7Eleven also marked Flirtey’s largest commercial relationship to date.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world,” said Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny. “This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7-Eleven. Flirtey’s historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand.”
The two companies have plans to expand drone delivery tests and work closely together, according to 7-Eleven EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins.
“Drone delivery is the ultimate convenience for our customers and these efforts create enormous opportunities to redefine convenience,” said Delgado-Jenkins.
“This delivery marks the first time a retailer has worked with a drone delivery company to transport immediate consumables from store to home. In the future, we plan to make the entire assortment in our stores available for delivery to customers in minutes.”
