As part of 7‑Eleven’s 89th birthday celebrations, the world’s largest convenience retailer teamed up with Flirtey to complete the first fully autonomous drone delivery.
“This delivery required special flight planning, risk analysis, and detailed flight procedures ensuring residential safety and privacy were equally integrated,” said Chris Walach, director of operations for the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS).
“It’s amazing that a flying robot just delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.”
At a 7‑Eleven store in Reno, Nevada, hot and cold food items were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s residence. Arriving in minutes at the backyard, the drone hovered in place and gently lowered the packages which included hot coffee, Slurpee drinks, donuts, and a chicken sandwich.
“My wife and I both work and have three small children ages 7, 6 and 1. The convenience of having access to instant, 24/7 drone delivery is priceless,” said Reno resident Michael, who received the Flirtey delivery. “It’s amazing that a flying robot just delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7‑Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world,” said Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny.
“This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7‑Eleven. Flirtey’s historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand.”