DoorDash launches drone deliveries in Charlotte
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Photo: Courtesy of Wing and DoorDash
Some Charlotte residents can now have their DoorDash delivered by drone, starting today.
Why it matters: DoorDash is partnering with drone delivery company Wing to bring the service to Charlotte for the first time ever.
How it works: Drone deliveries will be available within four miles of The Arboretum Shopping Center in south Charlotte. Eligible users will notice a "Drone" icon on the homepage of the DoorDash app.
- From there, customers can order from select restaurants including Curry Junction, Matcha Cafe Maiko, Joa Korean Food and Panera Bread. Orders must meet specific size and weight requirements.
- Packages are loaded onto a drone at a local hub. The drone can take off about 200 feet in the air and fly at around 65 miles per hour.
- Customers can track the drone live. Deliveries should take as little as 15 minutes. Once it arrives, the drone drops to about 23 feet, and the parcel is lowered with a tether.
- Then, the drone flies back to Wing's hub and lands on a contact charger.
What they're saying: "There's something special about watching your order arrive by air in minutes," Harrison Shih, head of product for DoorDash Labs, DoorDash's robotics and automation arm, said in a press release.
The big picture: DoorDash and Wing view North Carolina as an emerging, national leader in drone integration because of favorable state and local policies.
- North Carolina has already cleared the federal government's required review of the environmental impact of drone deliveries.
- Wing's CEO has said its service works well in dense suburban communities, which is why the Charlotte metro made sense for the next expansion.
Flashback: DoorDash and Wing debuted drone delivery in Australia in 2022.
- Since then, the partnership has expanded in the U.S., in parts of Southwest Virginia and Dallas.
- Dallas-Fort Worth is becoming widely known as the country's drone capital, largely because of Wing's partnership there with Walmart.
What's next: The companies plan to introduce drone delivery to other Charlotte neighborhoods later this year.
