Zomato has certainly changed the food business in India and is also giving employment to a very large number of delivery guys. But, it seems like Zomato is not happy with the time taken in each delivery as it has successfully tested its maiden drone delivery tech, a move which will reduce the time and energy to deliver food at customers doorstep.

The test has been conducted with a hybrid drone, having a fusion of rotary wing and fixed wings on a single drone. The drone successfully covered a distance of 5 km, in 10 minutes, with a peak speed going upto 80 kmph. The drone was carrying a payload of 5 kgs, the company said in a statement.

“Today, the average time required for Zomato’s biker fleet to deliver food is 30.5 minutes. If we consider long-distance deliveries – let’s say, getting paranthas delivered from Chandni Chowk (in the heart of Delhi) to Gurgaon (outside Delhi), covering a distance of about 35 km) in less than 30 minutes – it would be impossible on a bike, or on the metro, or even with Usain Bolt. Here is where drone tech can change the game,”

the company said.

To save the maximum time, Zomato had acquired TechEagle a few months ago and the plan seems to be working quite well. The final design has been made keeping security as the highest priority. It has inbuilt sensors and an onboard computer to sense and avoids both static and moving objects.

The only possible way to reduce the average 30.5 minutes to 15 minutes is to take the aerial route – roads are not efficient for very fast delivery. We have been working towards building sustainable and safe delivery technology and with our first successful test, food delivery by drones is no longer just a pipe dream. While regulatory hurdles are not trivial, and the government’s concerns need to be looked at from various (valid) points of view, the tech is ready to fly and I am confident that drone delivery will be commonplace sooner rather than later,” said Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato.

Source: AdAgeIndia