Now that's a special delivery: Domino's builds DRONE to deliver
pizzas by air and beat the traffic
The traditional pizza delivery boy could soon be a thing of
the past if a revolutionary new plan by Domino's comes to
fruition.
The popular chain has teamed up with an advertising agency to
build a drone which is capable of delivering pizzas to its
customers by flying them through the air.
The 'Domicopter' bypasses crowded streets to reach its target
within minutes - and still keeps its cargo piping hot on
arrival.
Domino's recently approached digital agency T + Biscuits to
help it come up with an attention-grabbing new way of delivering
its signature pizzas.
The agency decided to look into adapting a drone which could
bear the weight of two pizzas and transport them around 100m above
the ground.
T + Biscuits found that a drone built by AeroSight to carry
video cameras was perfect for the job, and set about transforming
it into the first Domicopter - though it was nearly named the
'Pepperdroney'.
They chose Guildford in Surrey to be the site of the first
test flight, and commissioned staff at the local Domino's to cook
up two large pepperoni pizzas for the experiment.
The pizzas were loaded into an insulated bag to keep them
warm on their pioneering journey, which would take them four miles
to their destination.
Two cameras mounted on the drone chronicled every moment of
the 10-minute flight, which ended successfully with the warm treats
delivered into the hands of a happy customer.
The drone was controlled by a pilot on the ground, although
in the future it could use GPS to reach its destination without
help from any human operators.
Engineers are now hoping to increase the weight which can be
carried by the drone, so that it can transport drinks along with
pizzas.
T + Biscuits founder Tom Hatton told NBC
News the experiment had proven successful,
saying: 'If anything it went quicker than a pizza boy.
'We were amazed at how easy it was going to be.'
Destination: The pizza box is taken from its bag by the satisfied
customer who has ordered it
Success! The whole operation took just two minutes, boding well for
the Domicopter's future
However, for the time being there is little prospect of the
pizza drone taking over entirely - the project was more of a
publicity statement than a short-term business plan.
'Domino's is an innovative company that is constantly looking
at ways to deliver pizzas as quickly as possible,' a company
spokesman said.
'It could be great to think that one day pizzas could
fly!'
