Zomato is a Food ordering and delivery platform which has become more popular by early 2018. Zomato India on 12th June 2019, said it has tested its drone technology for delivering the food packets to customers through the aerial route.
The test was carried out by delivering a food packet to a distance of 5km. The drone seemed to attain the maximum speed of 80kmph. The transit time was about 10mins approximately.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is responsible for all aerial transports and devices that take up the aerial route for transportation. On May 13th, DGCA issued a notice stating that interested companies have been asked to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the DGCA for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations (BVLOS) of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)/Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
Zomato claims that “The drone was tested last week at one of the remote sites approved by the DGCA. Such tests are done at very remote sites which are specially designed to conduct such tests”
Deepinder Goyal, Founder, and CEO, Zomato, said in a statement “The only possible way to reduce the average 30 minutes to 15 minutes is to take the aerial route. Roads are not efficient for very fast deliveries.
“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.”
He further added that“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”.
The Drone is currently tested with a load of 5kg and the drone is monitored by remote pilot supervision. Upon gathering more data, the company may do away with pilot supervision.
TechEagle, a Lucknow-based drone startup, was acquired by Zomato India to manage all the operations related to managing the flight of the drone.
Currently, the average time for food delivery using bike fleet takes 30 minutes. Increasing road congestion and demand for food in a shorter time will surely increase the average delivery time.
So the company claims that taking the aerial route for food delivery would really be a game changer.
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