Uber Air has completed its first high-density urban food delivery by drone in partnership with ModalAI. The collaboration saw Uber Air’s drone successfully fly food from a pick-up location to a pre-determined drop-off location where a courier would be waiting in the case of a real delivery.
Uber Air is changing the way Uber Eats is delivered
Uber Air’s drone uses a unique module, VXOL that allows for autonomous flight and object avoidance without needing a GPS. The VXOL module is attached to the drone and connects to the cloud using a portion of the smartphone ecosystem to keep it lightweight and easy to manage. The drone connects via a 4G link to Uber Elevate’s cloud server where the drone can be monitored, managed, manually controlled, and allows for the drone to navigate through the changing environment, including other aircraft using an ADS-B receiver.
In a statement from ModalAI’s CEO, Chad Sweet explains that the successful flight proves ModalAI’s VXOL technology is a viable platform and will continue to be used in the future for Uber Air’s drone deliveries.
The success of the Uber Eats drone delivery helps prove that VOXL is a viable platform for mission-critical drone applications. Moreover, it verified that cellular connectivity is a reliable method of supporting Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) drone flights. – Chad Sweet, CEO of ModalAI.
Would you want your food to be delivered by a drone? We’d love to know your thoughts.
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