Food delivery platform DoorDash in 2024 took its operations to the sky with the introduction of U.S. drone delivery, now available in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas. Its rival Uber Eats is now getting in on the action.
Uber on Thursday announced it invested in Israel-based drone delivery provider Flytrex, with which it plans to launch an autonomous service in Uber Eats pilot markets later this year. The move follows the company’s partnership with Joby Aviation, announced earlier this month, to bring aerial ridesharing—including electric air taxis—to its core platform.
Flytrex drones are already delivering for DoorDash in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the platform also works with Alphabet’s Wing. Flytrex and Wing are the first drone delivery providers in the U.S. to operate in shared airspace, part of an FAA effort to study uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) traffic management (UTM) technology.
The Israeli firm also serves customers in Granbury, Texas, and a pair of North Carolina towns. It said Thursday that its drones have completed more than 200,000 U.S. deliveries—fewer than Wing but more than Amazon’s Prime Air offering.
Uber Gets In On Drones
Like DoorDash, whose automation unit is exploring new ways to deliver, Uber Eats too has experimented with novel technology. Since 2021, it has worked with sidewalk delivery robot company Serve Robotics, which is exploring an integration with Wing’s drones. But its collaboration with Flytrex marks its first drone delivery investment.
“With Flytrex, we’re entering the next chapter—bringing the speed and sustainability of drone delivery to the Uber Eats platform, at scale, for the first time,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s president of autonomous mobility and delivery, in a statement.
Uber said customers will receive orders from Flytrex drones “in minutes.” The UAS fly autonomously at low altitude and about 30 knots, capable of covering about 5 sm round trip. They can carry up to 6.6 pounds of chicken wings, ice cream, or other goodies, though future models could raise that capacity to 8.8 pounds. Orders are lowered via a tether directly to the customer’s backyard.
Flytrex is one of a handful of U.S. drone delivery providers with Part 135 air carrier permissions and an FAA exemption that authorizes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, whereas other providers must maintain direct human oversight of their aircraft. That means, at least from a regulatory standpoint, there are few hurdles in the way of Uber Eats’ drone delivery launch.
“Autonomous drones are the future of food delivery—fast, affordable, and hands-free,” said Noam Bardin, executive chairman of Flytrex. “Together, we’re building the infrastructure for a future where autonomous systems seamlessly move goods through our communities, making faster, safer, and more sustainable delivery the new standard.”
Flytrex in June launched its Dallas-Fort Worth-area service, which is available to about 100,000 residents and expected to expand. As the services grow more common, they may soon also become more robust.
The FAA in August unveiled its long-awaited proposal for a new Part 108. The rule would effectively standardize regulations for BVLOS flight by replacing the exemption process with more robust operating certificates, tiered based on risk. It would also permit commercial drone operations in controlled Class B, C, and D airspace, among other measures. Industry trade groups such as the Commercial Drone Alliance have lauded the proposal.
The push to unlock commercial drones extends all the way to the White House, which in June published an executive order directing federal agencies to relax UAS operational restrictions. The order also calls for new privileges for domestic drone manufacturers that aim to get the technology in the hands of the military and international customers.
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