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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.

6 of 105 comments (clear)

  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 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.

  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 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
  3. 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.
  4. Alphabet, Burritos, Chipotle, Drones by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder what else is Alphabet involved in?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20