First Commercial Drone Delivery — From 7-Eleven

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news...-226712-1.html

First Commercial Drone Delivery — From 7-Eleven

By Mary Grady

The first-ever fully autonomous commercial drone delivery to a customer’s
doorstep has been completed, with an OK from the FAA, delivering a package of
hot and cold snacks from a 7-Eleven in Reno, Nevada, to a nearby family’s
backyard. Drone manufacturer Flirtey and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous
Systems, a nonprofit group working with the state government, teamed up to make
the project work. “This delivery required special flight planning, risk
analysis and detailed flight procedures ensuring residential safety and privacy
were equally integrated,” said Chris Walach, operations director for NIAS.

Once it reached the delivery site, about a mile away, in less than five
minutes, the Flirtey drone hovered in place and gently lowered its package by
winch to the waiting customers. “The convenience of having access to instant,
24/7 drone delivery is priceless,” said the Reno resident, identified only as
Michael, who received the Flirtey delivery, on July 11. He said he and his wife
both work and have three small children. “It’s amazing that a flying robot just
delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.” Hot coffee arrived hot,
and a Slurpee arrived still frozen. Flirtey said it envisions enabling
autonomous drone delivery for humanitarian, online retail and food industries.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iggIayLuks
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http://flirtey.com/

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/xEm7bI_meQY

Published: April 7
The first fully autonomous FAA-approved urban drone delivery in the US

Today, we’re thrilled to announce Flirtey successfully completed the first
fully autonomous FAA-approved urban drone delivery in the US

RENO Nevada (March 25, 2016) — Flirtey, the premier independent drone delivery
company, successfully completed the first fully autonomous, FAA-approved urban
drone delivery in the United States. In an uninhabited residential setting in
Hawthorne, Nevada, the company successfully delivered a package that included
bottled water, emergency food and a first aid kit by drone.

The delivery exhibited the industry-leading advancements Flirtey has made in
its drone technology and autonomous systems. The six-rotor drone flew itself
along a pre-determined delivery route and lowered the package at a precise
drop-off location. A Flirtey pilot and several visual observers were on standby
during the delivery as a backup to the autonomous system, but were never
needed.

The choice of water, food and a first aid kit illustrates Flirtey’s vision to
reinvent the delivery process for humanitarian, online retail and food delivery
industries.

The delivery follows a series of groundbreaking drone delivery “firsts” for
Flirtey. The company conducted the first FAA-approved drone delivery last July
— a series of urgent medical deliveries to a rural healthcare clinic.

“Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban setting is a major
achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make regular deliveries to
your front doorstep,” said Matt Sweeny, CEO of Flirtey. “Drone delivery by
Flirtey is set to save lives and change lifestyles”.

Flirtey’s accomplishment was completed through a partnership with the Nevada
Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center at the University of Nevada,
Reno. The company has been working with engineers from the university-based
center to perfect and evolve its drone delivery technology. The two partners
are also working with NASA to develop a low-altitude air traffic management
system. Additionally, Flirtey partnered with Nevada Institute for Autonomous
Systems (NIAS), the FAA-designated Nevada UAS Test Site and a NASA partner for
the State of Nevada. Research and development (R&D) is a major focus of the six
FAA-designated Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Sites, and the Flirtey operation
adds significant knowledge to this effort – specifically R&D for search and
rescue and crisis response in disaster-prone areas.

“I congratulate Flirtey on successfully completing the nation’s first fully
autonomous urban package delivery, and I am thrilled that Flirtey is not only
testing its cutting-edge technology in Nevada, but also creating jobs through
its headquarters relocation to Reno,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.
“When we first set out to target Unmanned Aerial Vehicles through the
Governor’s Office of Economic Development, we knew that our state had the
expertise to make an FAA Test Site designation a reality, but what we really
hoped to achieve was for Nevada to be the center of the commercial UAV industry
— the epicenter of research and development, testing, manufacturing, and policy
surrounding drones and autonomous systems. The Knowledge Fund has been a
successful tool to draw the industry’s attention to our capabilities, and
Flirtey’s relocation to Nevada is an important step in this process. I welcome
Flirtey to the New Nevada, and look forward to watching them succeed.”

The Hawthorne, Nevada urban delivery demonstrated that advanced drone systems
allow aerial vehicles to safely navigate around buildings and deliver packages
with precision within a populated area.

“This was by far one of the most successful UAS operations we ran and
represents an advanced level of test and development of new UAS technology,
flight planning, innovation, and mission execution by Flirtey,” said Director
of Operations for the FAA-designated Nevada UAS Test Site, Chris Walach. “The
Flirtey team excelled in all aspects of safe flight operations in the National
Airspace System (NAS).”

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 10:43:49 AM UTC-4, Larry Dighera wrote:
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news...-226712-1.html

First Commercial Drone Delivery — From 7-Eleven

By Mary Grady

The first-ever fully autonomous commercial drone delivery to a customer’s
doorstep has been completed, with an OK from the FAA, delivering a package of
hot and cold snacks from a 7-Eleven in Reno, Nevada, to a nearby family’s
backyard.

You mean the first *legal* fully autonomous commercial drone delivery to a
customer's doorstep.

Those Colorado Weed-Drones have been flying for years. Someone forgot to
call the newspaper.

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