Food delivery future turns exciting with drones

With some of the leading online ordering and food delivery platforms having deployed and successfully tested the technology of drones for the sake of food delivery, the day when machines completely take over delivering food isn’t far away.

A hybrid drone was recently used in a test to cover a distance of 5km in a matter of 10 minutes, with a peak speed of 80 kmph, while delivering a food package. Once all the regulatory approvals and necessary tests are through, we could be seeing drones flying through the skies carrying out hot food. City’s foodies and restaurateurs rejoice as they say this next-gen mode of delivering could be a game changer in the food industry.

Minakshi Anand, a who runs a chain of restaurants across Chennai, says labour issues are huge in the delivery industry. “There are many occasions when there is not enough delivery fleet available from the online aggregators to pick up and deliver the orders on time. Use of technologies like drones helps greatly in improving consistency in food delivery. If feasible, drones can help push the envelope for delivery of food,” Minakshi says.

A popular city-based food blogger, S Bala Aksshay Kumar says he uses the food delivery platforms quite often and finds the wait painstaking. “Drones will come in helpful in saving a lot of time for people. Each time I order food, there is a long wait and helping the delivery person with directions over several minutes. Technology could help in reducing this time, while also being efficient. Considering thousands of people order their meals online each day, drones could change the way we order and eat,” he adds.

A drone can also simply fly over a traffic congestion, keeping your food hot throughout the flight.