A tech startup called Flirtey has beaten Amazon’s ambitious drone delivery efforts by making the first U.S. drone delivery to a customer’s home, according to TechCrunch.
And what did it deliver?
Slurpees from 7-Eleven, apparently.
OK, the delivery also included a chicken sandwich, donuts, coffee and some candy. But if we had drone delivery service, we’d probably order a Slurpee right now, too.
The delivery took place on July 10 at a home in Reno, Nevada, which is where Flirtey is headquartered, according to TechCrunch.
The order was flown by drone to the home of the family who placed the order.
Flirtey is a private company that builds and operates its own delivery drones, including creating the software to run the drones and developing proprietary packing that keeps its contents safe during the delivery service. Flirtey believes its technology can be applied to the food and retail industries, as well as health care and humanitarian fields.
“Flirtey is making drone delivery possible for everyone. We’re building an industry, not just a company,” Flirtey says on its website.
Before attempting the first delivery, Flirtey surveyed households that lived within a mile of the 7-Eleven to find out which of them was comfortable having their order delivered to their doorstep by a flying drone.
7-Eleven, which has about 10,800 stores in the U.S. and around 59,500 around the world, plans to make drone delivery a widely available service option in the near future, 7-Eleven Chief Merchandising Officer Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins told TechCrunch.
Flirtey looks like it will be an interesting company to keep an eye on if it’s this far ahead in the drone delivery game, and it also might be interesting to keep an eye out for how many more companies jump on the drone delivery bandwagon in the not-too-distant future.
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