Domino’s drone delivery takes off

Domino’s is replacing delivery men with drones in select locations as it kicks off one of the world’s first drone pizza delivery service.



Starting Wednesday, Nov. 16, Domino's Pizza Enterprises and Flirtey, a drone delivery service, are launching their first-ever drone-based “store-to-door” deliveries in a test among select customers in New Zealand. The two companies plan to scale up these pizza-by-drone deliveries in the near future, a company statement said.



The store-to-home flights rely on Flirtey's drone, which is constructed from carbon fiber, aluminum and 3D printed components. It is a lightweight, autonomous and electrically-driven unmanned aerial vehicle. It lowers its cargo via tether, and has built-in safety features, such as low-battery return-to-safe-location programming and auto-return-home commands in case of low GPS signal or communication loss.



Called DRU Drone, the service is designed to complete deliveries across a variety of weather conditions and flight paths in suburban environments. The technology also ensures precise, safe and efficient deliveries of fresh Domino's pizza to customers, according to a company statement.



"We are thrilled with the results of our trials, and look forward to expanding DRU Drone by Flirtey soon," Domino's Group CEO and managing director Don Meij said. "We invested in this partnership, and technology, because we believe drone delivery will be an essential component of our pizza deliveries, so even more customers can receive the freshest, hottest pizza we can offer.”



The drone delivery method, which was initially beta tested in August, is designed to work alongside Domino's current delivery fleet, and is being fully integrated into online ordering and GPS systems, the statement added.