For first time, drone delivers package to residential area
March 25, 2016 6:42 PM EST
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A drone has successfully delivered a package to a residential location in a small Nevada town in what its maker and the governor of the state said Friday was the first fully autonomous urban drone delivery in the U.S.
Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeney said the six-rotor drone flew about a half-mile along a pre-programmed delivery route on March 10 and lowered the package outside a vacant residence in an uninhabited area of Hawthorne, southeast of Reno.
The route was established using GPS. A pilot and visual observers were on standby during the flight but weren't needed, Sweeney said.
He said the package included bottled water, food and a first-aid kit.
"Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban setting is a major achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make regular deliveries to your front doorstep," Sweeney said.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval congratulated the company "on successfully completing the nation's first fully autonomous urban package delivery."
"I am thrilled that Flirtey is not only testing its cutting-edge technology in Nevada, but also creating jobs through its headquarters relocation to Reno," Sandoval said in a statement.
NASA is working with the drone industry and the Federal Aviation Administration on a low-altitude air traffic control system to prevent crashes involving drones and other low-altitude aircraft.
Flirtey conducted the first FAA-approved, rural drone delivery in July to a rural health care clinic in Virginia.
The Nevada delivery demonstrates that advanced drone systems allow aerial vehicles to safely navigate around buildings and deliver packages with precision within a populated area, Sweeney said.
The company recently moved its headquarters from Australia to Nevada. It said the recent delivery was filmed for an upcoming ABC-TV documentary.
Hawthorne, a town of about 3,000 residents, is the home of the Hawthorne Army Depot.
Flirtey has been conducting research and development through a partnership with the Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. Nevada is one of six states the FAA has designated as unmanned aircraft systems test sites.
"This was by far one of the most successful (unmanned aircraft systems) operations we ran and represents an advanced level of test and development ... by Flirtey," said Chris Walach, director of operations for the FAA-designated Nevada site.
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I don't WANT my packages delivered by drones! In the first place the last thing we need in residential areas are more drones (I'm close to buying a pellet gun to take down a couple that the neighborhood teens on the next block have). I have this vision in my head of dozens of drones overhead all of the time. Also what if I didn't order anything and a drone drops off something on my doorstep? Why should I have to go through all of the bullshit of contacting Amazon or Fingerhut or whoever sent it, to gt it back to them? Are they going to send a drone to pick it up? Or a person? When the nice and friendly UPS guy (or gal) delivers a package to my home I know Immediately if it's for me or my wife or not. In fact there have been at least three times in the past when UPS tried to deliver a package to us for people who used to live at our address (and I mean years later) and I can just tell the friendly UPS guy (or Gal) and they take the package away.
And if they continue this they'd better not fly them within range over my house. I may not own a gun, but I used to be a great shot with a wrist rocket slingshot.
6 rotors ! That should be able to lift a fairly large payload ...
Give them enough power and rotors they'll be able to repossess your car...or your kid!
Who signs a receipt? No problem for any thief to pick up a delivered package if nobody is home to retrieve it. The addressee can take in the article and say it was never delivered. I see this mode of delivery as totally ridiculous.
Yeah. I mean what if you ordered something expensive from Amazon and you never got it it. You call them up and they say their drone dropped it off. How can they or you prove it did or didn't happen? And why is there suddenly a brand new Laptop just like the one you ordered on Craig's list?
Exactly.
I would be afraid, no kidding, to order anything from any company that delivered their packages with this method. I mean just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do it or that it's a good idea. If anything would drive me back to the Mall, this would be it.