Uber tests delivery of Big Mac by drone in San Diego



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SAN DIEGO – Uber is preparing to enter the drone deliveries game, and things will soon take off this summer with the intention of launching a pilot program to deliver fast food UAV delivery to San Diego.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration chose San Diego as one of 10 cities to test commercial drone delivery. The city then partners with Uber to test it, and Uber works with McDonald as an early partner for this program. Both companies have been working for months to design special packaging to keep your food warm, your ice cream cold and all that remains intact during transport.

Until now, two San Diego restaurants have signed up for the new delivery service, McDonalds, Juniper and Ivy.

"I think it's pretty monumental!" said enthusiastically Dan Pena, director of operations at Juniper Hospitality.

Juniper and Ivy is more of an upscale restaurant, known for its fine dining; However, it is their hamburger that has attracted the attention of Uber.

"It's not even on our menu, it's a secret," Pena said. He said that Uber had approached him to deliver the burger after a Bloomberg reporter had said it was one of the best that they had had .

"We have already been voted the best hamburger in the city and we keep a very limited number."

He added that hamburgers will only be available for Uber delivery from 4pm to 7pm and until stocks run out. This is an initiative that will only begin later this summer or early in the fall.

However, do not expect to see Big Macs coming down from the sky to your front door.

Instead, there will be safe landing zones designated to drop food. From there, an Uber mail will pick up the order and deliver it to your door. Some Uber cars may also be equipped with QR codes on the roof of their cars, which could serve as potential landing zones.

As far as prices are concerned, delivery charges should match Uber Eats' ordinary costs, which can go as high as $ 8.50 in San Diego.

Uber Eats has been one of the few divisions of the company to generate revenue, recording a turnover of $ 1.5 billion in 2018, up 150% from the previous year. last year.

Although Uber's plans are ambitious, the company still has some hurdles to overcome before testing can really begin.

Uber has not yet obtained FAA approval for its drone delivery program. Meanwhile, the Google Wing program has already been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration's airline carrier to deliver commercial drones to Virginia.

Uber has no drones yet, but they plan to unveil their drone later this year. It is supposed to reach speeds of up to 100 km / h.

Kate Fraser, policy manager at Uber Elevate, believes it will take at least three years before delivery of the drones spread to more markets. And Luke Fischer, head of flight operations at Uber Elevate, expects UAV delivery to be widespread enough in 10 years to change the way restaurants operate.

Security, noise and air traffic are also issues that companies like Uber, Google and Amazon will face before drone delivery is widely adopted in cities.

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