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Alphabet Partners With Chipotle To Deliver Burritos Using Drones (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the for-here-or-to-go dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Google parent company Alphabet is teaming up with fast casual chain Chipotle to test drone delivery for Virginia Tech students, according to a report from Bloomberg. The pilot program marks a turning point for Alphabet's Project Wing division, giving the team ample room to experiment with airborne burrito deliveries in one of the first commercial programs of its kind to be green-lit by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority. The drones, which will be hybrid aircraft that can both fly and hover in place, will make deliveries coordinated by a Chipotle food truck on campus. Project Wing drones will be guided predominantly by software, but human pilots will be on hand to assume control if necessary. The aircraft are also prohibited from flying directly over human beings. So active participants will be shielded appropriately, according to Alphabet. Project Wing chose to partner with Chipotle because it presented unique challenges: could a drone adequately deliver food using a winch system, and can the food remain hot throughout flight with special packaging? The program will be accessible to select Virginia Tech employees and students.

105 comments

  1. Challenge by amicusNYCL · · Score: 4, Funny

    Knock down the drone, win a burrito.

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    1. Re:Challenge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Or just capture the drone, and free drone AND burrito!

    2. Re:Challenge by zlives · · Score: 4, Insightful

      its been a long time since i have been in college... i just know back in the day... this would be a drone/burrito losing strategy.

    3. Re:Challenge by myowntrueself · · Score: 2

      Knock down the drone, win a burrito.

      Actually I was thinking surely some kind of cannon would be the best way to deliver burritos... Perhaps methane powered.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    4. Re:Challenge by show+me+altoids · · Score: 1

      Will the E. Coli survive the trip?

      --
      I feel sorry for people that don't drink, because when they get up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel
    5. Re:Challenge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about the Salmonella?

      Oh well, nobody will miss the dorks who love chipotle and drones.

    6. Re: Challenge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Enough with the E. Coli jokes; Twentyyears from now we'll have nano bots wiping the shit off every flank and tritip.

  2. I'm sorry... by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 4, Funny

    How is this different than the terror bombings from World War 2?

    1. Re:I'm sorry... by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 1

      The payload?

    2. Re:I'm sorry... by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Apparently you haven't tried one with their hottest sauce....

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    3. Re:I'm sorry... by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Or the one that 2 years ago left several patrons sick in several locations in the country

    4. Re: I'm sorry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The main difference is that biological weapons were banned inWWII.

    5. Re:I'm sorry... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Funny

      Because after Google perfects this system, they will move on to other ready to eat foods until they have a perfect way to deliver food almost anywhere...
      at that point the whole thing will be scrapped...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    6. Re:I'm sorry... by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      Pizzacopter!

    7. Re:I'm sorry... by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Because after Google perfects this system...

      This is a lot easier to say than do. Just like time travel...

    8. Re:I'm sorry... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      The have barred the drone from flying over people, so how does it actually deliver the burrito, fire it at them? Ahh, the pleasant time of lunch in the park at a univerity, the time to sit a relax, eat and listening to some tunes, ohh no, fuck that, listen instead to the sound of a thousand drones trying to deliver junk food at the same time. The insurance companies will love that university.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    9. Re: I'm sorry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or last week...

    10. Re:I'm sorry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The payload?

      Uh, no. Not really....

  3. VaT is in the mountains by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    frozen pizza?

  4. Ugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Not even my burritos are safe from the almighty GOOG. Time to switch to Qdoba.

    1. Re:Ugh by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      If they'd deliver Qdoba Queso, I would sign up in a minute.

  5. Great concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Giving a whole new meaning to airborne biological warfare. E.Coli dispersed through the atmosphere of your town with 4 fan blades to speed it along.

    1. Re:Great concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Rumor has it that Chipotle was intentionally sabotaged. Sadly it's worked. Their food is still good quality though, better than the shit-tier food-substitute that the rest of the fast-food world has been poisoning our lives with for decades and decades.

    2. Re:Great concept by grasshoppa · · Score: 2

      Do you know what those bastards did last time I was in? They gave me a burrito...for free.

      That shit could have anthrax sprinkled on it, and I'd probably still nom on it.

      --
      Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
    3. Re:Great concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They did this for me one time. Went in right before close and instead of being dicks about it when it came time to ring me up they just gave it to me since everything was being put up / thrown out anyway.

    4. Re:Great concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously. I mean look at the average health effects that fries have had on the average person's health over the decades. Not saying what happened with Chipotle isn't bad. But at the same time, I think it's also important to look at the health effects of the average fast food joint's products when things are going as planned.

    5. Re:Great concept by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a rumor started by Chipotle's management.

      Also your lives are already poison. Cheap abundant food only lets you accelerate your own slog to an artery-clogged death. Something you will get just as easily by eating at Chipotle.

  6. BioDrone Attack by stevez67 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Food poisoning delivered by drones. I'll have mine with extra ptomaine, please.

    1. Re:BioDrone Attack by geekmux · · Score: 1

      Food poisoning delivered by drones. I'll have mine with extra ptomaine, please.

      I believe it's attacks by gas you should be more fearful of.

      After all, this is a burrito delivery service.

  7. Publicity Stunt by Princeofcups · · Score: 2

    And what will they do when every single drone is destroyed or stolen? Quietly pretend the service never existed.

    --
    The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
    1. Re:Publicity Stunt by Jeremi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And what will they do when every single drone is destroyed or stolen? Quietly pretend the service never existed.

      The same thing Domino's does when their pizza deliverymen are destroyed or stolen -- call the police and have the perpetrators arrested.

      Except this time they'll have video records and GPS tracking data to make it easier to find the perpetrators.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    2. Re:Publicity Stunt by Gussington · · Score: 1

      The same thing Domino's does when their pizza deliverymen are destroyed or stolen

      I'm pretty sure the murder rate for pizza delivery people will be much lower than for drone vandalism. I'm also sure the cop care factor for theft of a $5 item of food is going to be zero.
      This has fail written all over it and you know it.

    3. Re:Publicity Stunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not the $5 food item they'd be calling about, and you know it.

    4. Re:Publicity Stunt by geekmux · · Score: 1

      The same thing Domino's does when their pizza deliverymen are destroyed or stolen

      I'm pretty sure the murder rate for pizza delivery people will be much lower than for drone vandalism. I'm also sure the cop care factor for theft of a $5 item of food is going to be zero. This has fail written all over it and you know it.

      Charge a $500 deposit for those who wish to sign up for this "new-and-cool" delivery service. Financial protection models like this have existed for years to secure semi-valuable objects.

    5. Re:Publicity Stunt by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Charge a $500 deposit for those who wish to sign up for this "new-and-cool" delivery service. Financial protection models like this have existed for years to secure semi-valuable objects.

      I've never hear of anyone signing away a $500 bond to maybe get a burrito delivered. It would also just make them more of a target since instead of just taking one out for kicks, you now also know you're going to make some nerd $500 poorer too.

  8. Fall of modern society by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Everyone talks about Western decadence mirroring ancient rome's path to downfall. I think the real indicator is going to be some function of how many inane tasks we can shoehorn into a drone deliver service.

    1. Re:Fall of modern society by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Everyone talks about Western decadence mirroring ancient rome's path to downfall.

      Roman decadence peaked in the 1st century AD, but the downfall didn't happen till nearly 400 years later. By then they were nearly all Christians, who, at least in principle, opposed decadence.

    2. Re: Fall of modern society by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everything took longer then. The world moves faster now. Science, art, discovery, etc..

    3. Re:Fall of modern society by drnb · · Score: 1

      Roman decadence peaked in the 1st century AD, but the downfall didn't happen till nearly 400 years later.

      The decadence of the people or the decadence of the leadership? The leadership can do more damage.

    4. Re:Fall of modern society by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      The decadence of the people or the decadence of the leadership?

      Neither. Decadence did NOT cause the collapse of Rome. That is just propaganda from prudes who don't think we should be enjoying life. When Rome was decadent, they were at their peak of power and prosperity. It was considered a "Golden Age".

      There are far more plausible reasons why Rome collapsed:

      1. Civil war
      2. Lead poisoning
      3. Plague
      4. The Germans
      5. The Huns

    5. Re:Fall of modern society by drnb · · Score: 2

      Depends on one's definition of decadence. I don't consider anything beyond the puritanical to necessarily be decadent. However there is a point where self indulgence can go beyond personal enjoyment and cause harm to others, that's about where I draw the decadence line. I think various emperor's crossed that line. I may be wrong but I don't think the Roman ideal of virtue was necessarily puritanical given household paintings and mosaics that have been discovered.

      My question was really about whether the leadership's decadence peaked or greatly exceeded the publics in the centuries closer to the fall. Decadence of leadership could contribute to the civil wars and problems with the Germans and hence have a role. Consider if the leadership of those respective time frames was closer to a Cincinnatus than Caligula, just making a point, I don't know if later rulers went that far. I'm more interested in the Republic era with respect to my readings.

    6. Re:Fall of modern society by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      >By then they were nearly all Christians, who, at least in principle, opposed decadence.

      By then the culture was habituated by centuries of 'going through the motions' of religion & being made to 'choose a religious allegiance' to comply with the law- while still being influenced by previous nature/sex/fertility cultures. FTFY

      At that time in Rome being religious was just a part of being a good citizen, and being decadent was part of being a good human. Remember the Romans were still the product of previous 'decadent' cultures who they co-opted, (Etruscan, Greek, and Phoenician), and this had more momentum than the religious flavor du jour. So it was completely acceptable for them to be formally religious (btw it was ordered by the politiculture of the day), and yet remain very decadent. In other words, they did not see a problem.

    7. Re:Fall of modern society by sjames · · Score: 1

      It was the vandals. They spent so much money on sandblasting graffiti the whole thing collapsed.

  9. Airborne e coli? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who the fuck is still eating there?

  10. By air? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    When you just can't WAIT for the E. Coli to arrive!

  11. tacos on every corner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WHOOHOOO!

    This is even better than taco trucks every corner!

    1. Re:tacos on every corner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Trump will build a wall around every taco

  12. This is slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They should deliver hot grits, not burritos.

  13. In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It is now a certified conclusion that Alphabet exec's are definitely on drugs.
    On the other hand, this sort of reality distortion field worked for Apple, so maybe trying something interesting in a controlled environment will net something useful..
    So maybe not.

    At least V tech students will have a source of fuel for hard nights of party ^H^H^H^H^H studies.

    Delivering burritos to drunk college students seems a good challenge for developing the technology.
    First hurdle: what keeps the customers digits attached after encounters near the props?

    1. Re:In other news by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

      No, they are quite sane when viewed from the right perspective. Over 85% of Google's revenue comes from ads, but more and more people are using ad-blockers. This is a threat to their existence. So the purpose of Alphabet is to find something, anything, to fill in when ad revenue declines. Some of their projects are pretty conservative, like high speed broadband, wireless, and cloud services. Other companies already make billions a year on them. Others are riskier, but you never know when one could turn out to be a hit. After all, search wasn't that big a market until Google made it one. They have so much cash piled up, it makes sense to throw some of it around in the hopes of another hit.

      Taco delivery is just a feasibility test. The real underlying service is last-mile delivery of small packages. Right now, a car, van, or UPS truck does that. Imagine a Google self-driving electric delivery van that has several variously sized drones on the roof. They can fly off and do multiple deliveries in short range of the van, then fly back to recharge their batteries. That kind of system would be way more efficient in making deliveries around town than a truck with a human driver. None of the pieces for such a delivery system are ready yet, but they are working on it.

  14. Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by Maltheus · · Score: 1

    Seriously though, nice gimmich, but the liability concerns will never be overcome on these drone delivery stories. No sure it'll ever be profitable either.

    1. Re:Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I for One welcome our New Burrito Bearing Overloads.

    2. Re:Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      the liability concerns will never be overcome on these drone delivery stories.

      Why would the liability insurance on a 4 kg drone be more than that on a 2 ton delivery van driven by a teenager?

    3. Re:Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Roads don't move, air does, sometimes rather quickly and suddenly, sometimes unpredictably. A delivery van would have to make it all the way through a garage, or the house, or many yards and fences to hit people in the average backyard, the drone can drop in. The teenager in the 2 ton van risks his/her own well being in a crash, not so the drone operator/drone operating algorithm. Teenage drivers are a known quantity to insurance companies, not so with drones used for commercial deliveries to the public. The drone can cause injury to the average moron who tries to get the burrito before the drone has landed, as they are unfamiliar with how drone delivery works, the average moron knows how delivery food works involving cars and drivers.

      That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure there's a dozen more reasons if you wanted to think about it a while.

    4. Re:Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ">That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure there's a dozen more reasons if you wanted to think about it a while." I'll take a dozen more burritos, but please don't bounce them off my head this time.

    5. Re:Biological Terrorism or Drone Warfare? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same thing with autonomous cars.

  15. DMCA by Tablizer · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Onion.com called, they want their headline back.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  16. Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder what else is Alphabet involved in?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
    1. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everything?

    2. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Even including Everything, that's still less than a fifth of the Alphabet.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      ...E-coli, Food poisoning?

    4. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eavesdropping

    5. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      You forgot Email and Fiber

    6. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google Fiber... I hear that is going well.

    7. Re: Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly what are you trying to spell out here?

    8. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      Anything that starts with a letter.

      Numbers are right out though.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    9. Re:Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by danjump · · Score: 1

      Election Fixing?

  17. Time to design and build my .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rocket Propelled Anti-Drone Net Deployment System!

  18. How retarded is tech venture capital? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a test. They are failing.

  19. What can go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can already see the trail of seagulls behind the drone, and the trail of birdsh!t on the ground, leading back to the kitchen.

  20. Fuck... by gander666 · · Score: 1
    I jokingly comment to a friend that all we need is an über for burritos, and VC's will toss shitloads of money at it, and now the Google parent does it.

    (farnsworth)I don't want to live on this planet anymore(/farnsworth)

    --
    Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress ... but I repeat myself. - Mark T
    1. Re:Fuck... by safetyinnumbers · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure if UberEats does burritos.

  21. Okay, so I can get a burrito via drone by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    The bigger question is - can I also get one of those overpriced margaritas?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  22. Forget drones by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    they could just use a cannon.

  23. Up there! by ichthus · · Score: 2

    Up there!
    In the Sky!
    It's a bird!
    It's a plane!

    No, it's E. Coli!

    --
    sig: sauer
  24. The bubble is about to burst by drnb · · Score: 1

    This is a test. They are failing.

    This is an indicator, the bubble is about to burst. Just like it did at the end of Bill Clinton's presidency.

  25. Alphabet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So getting Chipotle Burritos is as simple as A.B.C.? That must be one heck of a college!

  26. Message for Harry Canyon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will you accept the charges?

    Meet female acquaintance at Statue of Liberty 4 o'clock. Stop.

  27. It's obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is for burrito delivery over the wall, for repatriated beaner illegals. Well played, Alphabet.

  28. No one learns, just play time... by recharged95 · · Score: 2

    Didn't anyone learn from existing industry:

    Who wants a cold burrito?
    In Rain?
    And Oily?

    And it's Chipotle, which still hasn't solved its bacteria problem.

    Just a marketing stunt....which college kids love...

  29. College kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Need to walk to the dang store. Not get bad food delivery....elder needs this more.

    College 15 become the college 25...

  30. Stop posting these drone stories by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sick of seeing "Company X will deliver Y with drones." It's not news any more. Stop posting this shit. Give us real news.

    1. Re:Stop posting these drone stories by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop replying to them.

  31. Pollution by Gussington · · Score: 1

    I know we're nerds and drones are supposed to the coolest thing to nerds, but does anyone really think drones buzzing overhead is a good thing?
    If I see one of these annoying things polluting my neighbourhood I will do my best to destroy it. Good luck getting your Burrito.

    1. Re:Pollution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If I see one of these annoying things polluting my neighbourhood I will do my best to destroy it.

      No, Internet Tough Guy, you won't.

  32. ...And that's how... by nix.billy · · Score: 1

    Food poisoning just became an airborne disease.

  33. Flying Burrito Brothers! by steve90 · · Score: 1

    Gram Parsons - way ahead of his time in so many ways.

  34. Science Angle by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    "Salmonella now air-borne."

  35. tax avoidance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the reason Alphabet exists at all

  36. I am so proud by necro81 · · Score: 1

    As a member of the human race, I am so proud that centuries of technological and culinary progress has brought us to this. What a lovely day! I can't think of anything more useful for drone (or burrito) technology. All praise to our glorious overlords!

    (perhaps the sarcasm was a little thick. The chip in my skull must be getting some crosstalk from North Korean propaganda - they've got that turned to full blast today.)

  37. Don't Drone me Bro-ito by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    #randypants would say "Don't drone me bro-ito"

  38. Airborne foil wrapped weapons if mass dysentery! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google/Alphabet to begin airborne E-COLI-Burrito boning campaign!
    If successful the streets will RUN brown, and I do mean RUN!
    Fortunately the brown rain of terror wont last long.
    Like trying to keep a Chipotle Burrito contained once eaten most Google/Alphabet projects don't last very long.
    As soon as Google/Alphabet gather the data they are covertly looking for or become board with the project it will be abruptly canceled.
    Abandoning the unfortunate souls with the above average digestive fortitude who had the misfortune of become dependent on the foil wrapped E-COLI bombs falling from the sky.

  39. Are we in the dark ages? by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

    Why can't they make burrito appear in my mouth pre-chewed? Seriously...

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  40. I want my burrito 3-D printed by the drone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want my burrito 3-D printed by the drone. *Fresh*
    It is allowed to roast my coffee beans on the flight over, though.

  41. I'm just amazed a drone has enough by exabrial · · Score: 1

    I'm just amazed a drone has enough lift to carry a 17lb burrito.

  42. Call Me When by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Call me when Alphabet is partnering with Burrito to deliver chipotle!

  43. Burrito at 12 o'clock high! by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Take cover! INCOMING!

    Seriously, dropped from height, that's a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  44. Platform by Strych9 · · Score: 1

    Alphabet Partners With Chipotle To Deliver Burritos Using Drones ... as a new bio-weapon delivery system?

  45. Wow, travelling ecoli.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude, Seroiusly? How is Crapotlay still in business?? From a public health perspective this just seems wrong..
    if you pay an ass-tonne to be sick, well deliver it to ya, at an added cost (of course)

  46. It's raining tacos, la la laaa ... by stanjo74 · · Score: 1

    https://youtu.be/npjF032TDDQ

  47. Big Drone by nwaack · · Score: 1

    That's gonna have to be one big drone to lift all that white rice filler in their burrito. IMHO Chipotle is the most overrated and overpriced tex-mex restaurant ever created. Have the people who constantly eat their never tried Qdoba, Moe's, Baha Fresh, etc. etc.???

  48. Would the drone pilot.... by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 1

    ...be called CmdrTaco?

  49. College Hackers Will Love This by herbierobinson · · Score: 1

    Ooh, the company that is promoting the racist (or is it just ignorant?) pronunciation of Chipotle is making itself a target for campus hackers. This should be really interesting :-).

    --
    An engineer who ran for Congress. http://herbrobinson.us
  50. Naming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, is this a burrito-copter, or a burrito-bomber?