![When Food and Drones Collide. Not Literally, We Hope. [VIDEO]. Drones will be delivering food. The question is: when will it come to your neighbourhood, and will you be wearing the curry sauce?](https://res.cloudinary.com/hio22hxcn/image/upload/ar_3:2,c_fill,f_auto,fl_lossy,g_auto,q_auto,w_1600/v1460706407/cbfzdmlr9covj0jow0vf)
Drone deliveries are making news all over the world. In the US, Amazon shared their test flight video, and so did Google. Somehow food delivery using drones is also in the heart of this race. Here are a few to note:
Fish is flying at Yo! Sushi
This is not new news. Yo! Sushi in London delivered sushi to their customers using a drone in a test (stunt) trial in 2013. Let's just say the pilot needs a little more training. It is entertaining, nevertheless.
DRU (aka Domino's Robot Unit)
Domino's Australian franchise announced in March 2016 that they have successfully tested pizza delivery by their robot. It's a prototype now, and plans for full operation will be in 2017. Great news, just a little further away than we would have liked. And if we can make a suggestion: 12 mph speed may be a tad slow, knowing how we always want our pizzas NOW!
Urban delivery in Japan by 2020
Navigating a drone in the city is not just about out-manoeuvring the guy who swings open a window to cause the bottle of red wine flying, it also involves loads of permits and regulations. This means, it may take awhile before it becomes a reality. But the Japanese have a plan. A collaborate team including city government, Autonomous Control System Laboratory (ACSL) and Japan-based e-commerce giant Rakuten, is working to make urban drone delivery a fact of life, and the City of Chiba is their testbed. Stay tuned.
Flying closer to home
Commercial drone delivery in Hong Kong is not quite a reality, at least not yet. In late 2015, foodpanda started testing drone delivery in Singapore, and said Hong Kong is in their plans. We may literally need a heads up when it happens.
