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7-Eleven Just Used a Drone To Deliver Slurpees and a Chicken Sandwich (roboticstrends.com)

An anonymous Slashdot reader write: A drone has autonomously delivered Slurpees, a chicken sandwich, doughnuts, hot coffee and candy from a Reno, Nevada 7-Eleven to a nearby home. The delivery was made "in a matter of minutes" to two busy working parents near their store in Reno, Nevada, and the drone hovered in place and gently lowered each package to the ground in the family's backyard.

"To find customers willing to have their order handled by a flying robot, the companies surveyed households within a one-mile radius of the store from which they planned to deliver," reports Tech Crunch. 7-Eleven partnered with drone-delivery company Flirtey, which has also used its drones to perform a ship-to-shore delivery of medical supplies . They're calling this flight the first FAA-approved drone delivery to a home and a historic milestone in commercial deliveries, and both companies plan to continue working together in the future to perform more testing on drone deliveries.

14 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Of course by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    I guess they had to find some way of cutting costs now that they can no longer underpay staff and take advantage of desperate foreign workers.

  2. Here's 7-11 for you by future+assassin · · Score: 2
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    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
    1. Re: Here's 7-11 for you by corychristison · · Score: 2

      7-11 in the US and 7-11 in Canada are pretty different.

      Here in Canada the stores are owned by 7-11 Canada. This helps with things like pensions, medical/dental/drug benefits. (Source: my wife works at the 7-11 across from my house).

      In the US, all stores are independently owned.

      And, to be honest, that story is more about Esso being a bunch of pricks and selling off their retail/convenience stores, not that 7-11 Canada purchased them.

  3. Downsides by zamboni1138 · · Score: 2

    The downside is that you have to be willing to consume food from 7-11, which is maybe one notch above bowling alley food.

  4. Re:Taxes and laws in 3,2,1... by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    Boo on you! Can't you relax for even a minute?

    Back on topic:

    Lowering the chicken sandwich to the ground? Nice way to attract all the neighborhood cats. You'd better be faster than they are to pick it up.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  5. Falling problems by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Funny

    If drone delivery becomes common, is there going to be a problem with drones falling from the sky and hitting people on the head? I don't know the answer to that.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  6. I'll be shooting them out of the sky for free shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because that's apparently going to be viable soon, yay.

  7. wait... by JustNiz · · Score: 2

    Does this mean 7-11 just made the first ever drone delivery of a commercial sale?
    If so Way To Go 7-11 !!!!
    I would have put money on Amazon being the first.

  8. the biggest problem I see by tomhath · · Score: 4, Funny

    It will be interesting to see what happens when the drone tries to make a delivery at a house that has a dog. Most dogs I've had would just eat the chicken sandwich. But I've known a few that would have it out with the drone.

    1. Re:the biggest problem I see by ScentCone · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's funny because the question is preposterous. If you allowed your dog to run loose in your front yard, and asked a pizza delivery guy to leave food on your front porch where the dog could get to it, would you be questioning the viability of this fancy new "people delivery pizza using cars" technology? No? I see.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  9. Ignorant Posters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The article has been up for over 1.5 hours with 40 posts and no one has noticed that the first link isn't actually a link.

    How do I submit an application for a Slashdot editor position? I'd love to do nothing all day and get paid for it.

  10. Re: I'll be shooting them out of the sky for free by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    Carjacking is a risky crime that requires making physical threats to actual people face to face

    Then wait till after they make their delivery, and just steal the stuff from your neighbor's front porch or mailbox. What's stopping you? There are plenty of human endeavors that rely on people being basically honest, and for the most part, they work. If your mail isn't stolen, they why would drone deliveries be stolen?

  11. Re:Taxes and laws in 3,2,1... by bjwest · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Tell that to all the Walmarts in Texas that can't sell booze.

    That's due to religious oppression, not government. My county finally went wet after a long battle, spanning multiple voting cycles, with the religious fucks around here. You know what? The devil didn't set up camp on the County Courthouse like you'd though would happen according the them. As a matter of fact, the majority of crime is still committed by meth heads and there has been little to no change in alcohol related incidents. Still can't buy alcohol on Sundays though.. Fucking religious nuts pushing their beliefs on everyone else, then crying oppression when we try to do demand our right to do something they don't approve of.

    Sorry 'bout that... /rant

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    --- Keep the choice with the user..
  12. I thought we had laws against this by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 2

    A drone delivering 7-11 food must be considered a biowarfare war crime under the Geneva Convention.