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Deliveroo’s pop-up kitchens are ticking off local councils
Anyone that's ever ordered food for delivery will know your postcode is only as good as the eateries that serve it. Earlier this year, Deliveroo announced "Editions" as a new way to bring different types of restaurant-quality food to more empty bellies. Deliveroo Editions sites are home to Rooboxes -- delivery-only kitchens manned by chefs cooking for well-known establishments. The idea is that restaurants can use these proxy kitchens to serve a wider customer base, with Deliveroo cashing in on the increase in orders. That all sounds great on paper, but it appears Deliveroo didn't quite think everything though, as some sites aren't sitting too well with local councils.
Autonomous delivery drone network set to take flight in Switzerland
Matternet has long used Switzerland as a testing ground for its delivery drone technology, and now it's ramping things up a notch. The company has revealed plans to launch the first permanent autonomous drone delivery network in Switzerland, where its flying robot couriers will shuttle blood and pathology samples between hospital facilities. The trick is the Matternet Station you see above: when a drone lands, the Station locks it into place and swaps out both the battery and the cargo (loaded into boxes by humans, who scan QR codes for access). Stations even have their own mechanisms to manage drone traffic if the skies are busy.
Drones are delivering packages in Iceland's capital city
At last, a fully operational urban delivery drone system is here... only you probably won't get to use it. Drone logistics startup Flytrex has teamed up with Iceland's main online retailer, AHA, to launch a courier drone service in Reykjavik. Specifically, it's serving one part of Reykjavik -- robotic fliers carry food across a river in the city, cutting the delivery time from 25 minutes to 4. That doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it could make a big difference both in terms of getting your food quickly and cutting back on delivery costs.
Walmart may use a blimp to deploy its delivery drones
Hey, Amazon: you aren't the only one who pictures blimps full of delivery drones. Walmart has applied for a patent on "gas-filled carrier aircrafts" that would serve as airborne bases, helping courier drones fly to homes they couldn't reach if they flew from a fixed location. The concept isn't completely new, of course (Amazon filed for a similar patent in 2016) but Walmart goes into exacting detail. Blimps would fly at altitudes up to 1,000 feet and talk to a remote scheduling system that indicates when drones should fetch packages from inside the blimp and head to their destinations.
Deliveroo builds its own kitchens to help restaurants expand
Deliveroo's food delivery services are convenient provided your favourite restaurant is signed up and willing to cover your post code. All too often, you'll open the app only to find that what you really want to eat isn't available. Deliveroo's solution is 'Editions,' a network of small, delivery-only kitchens that can help restaurants to reach more people. Following a trial in London, the company is rolling out the concept nationwide. Thirty Editions will be available at launch, covering 200 restaurants and, Deliveroo claims, creating more than 1,000 jobs in the process.
Flying courier drone can drive up to your door
Delivery drones have more than a few challenges, not the least of which is dropping off the package in a convenient place. Do you really want to head out to your yard to collect a box? You might not have to. Advanced Tactics has successfully tested delivery with a drone, the Panther sUAS Air/Ground Robot, that can both fly and drive up to your door. When it's too dangerous or costly to travel by air, the machine just has to touch down and wheel its way to its destination. It promises more considerate (not to mention less theft-prone) shipping to homes and offices, and it could also lead to faster deliveries in areas where no one transportation method is particularly speedy.
DoorDash and Postmates test deliveries with robots
Starship's autonomous delivery robots have found work outside of the US, but they're now ready to come Stateside. DoorDash and Postmates have forged partnerships that will have them respectively test Starship robots in Redwood City, California and Washington, DC. As elsewhere, they'll carry food orders and packages with only the most basic of human oversight -- someone will watch over them in case they run into trouble, but they can largely roll along city sidewalks on their own.
Canada may have delivery drones in service by late 2017
Don't look now, but Canada might just join the likes of France and the UK in ushering in the courier drone era. Transport Canada has approved its first drone test range near the tiny village of Foremost, Alberta, clearing the way for Drone Delivery Canada to launch a robotic cargo service as soon as late 2017. The roughly 927 square miles will help DDC prove that its drones can haul goods across long distances using satellite guidance. Tests with the company's early partners should start sometime in the first quarter of the year.
France is the first to use drones for its national mail service
It's no longer surprising to see postal services experimenting with delivering mail using drones. However, France is kicking things up a notch: its national mail service will be the first to deliver packages by drone on a regular route. DPDgroup, the express courier subsidiary of the mail service, is running a test program where a hexacopter drone (not shown here) will carry packages up to 6.6 pounds along a 9.3-mile route in France's southern Provence region.
Uber gets slapped with lawsuit over missing food delivery tips
A courier in New York who used to deliver food for Uber has filed a lawsuit against the company over unpaid tips, according to Buzzfeed News. In the lawsuit, he said that tips from customers never made it to him and other delivery personnel for UberRush and UberEats. Both services deliver food to your doorstep from nearby restaurants, but they still have their differences. Rush mainly operates through GrubHub's delivery service whose rates typically include online gratuity, none of which (the plaintiff said) made it to couriers' pockets.
Google's home delivery service now covers most of the US
Google's same-day delivery service, Express has been growing quickly (it just spread throughout New England), but it's now poised to be almost ubiquitous in the US. The internet giant has expanded its I-want-it-now shopping option to 12 more states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. That puts Google Express within reach of 70 million more people, or about 90 percent of Americans. The whole continental US should be covered by the end of 2016, Google adds.
Amazon explores using street lights as delivery drone perches
Amazon's Prime Air delivery drones already have a glaring problem: how do you keep them charged and sheltered when dedicated facilities are likely to be few and far between? The company has an idea. It recently received a patent for a "UAV docking station" concept that would offer a temporary perch for drones in need. If a drone runs low on battery or needs to take shelter from an impending storm, it would only have to travel to a station on top of a street light, cell tower, church steeple or another high-up location. The drone could even drop off a package for another drone, turning a delivery into an aerial relay race.
Uber's delivery service just went mainstream
You probably know Uber as a company that takes you places. Soon, you may know it as the company that brings you pizza. And groceries. And laundry. And... well, everything. Today, Uber took its on-demand delivery service out of beta, opening the UberRush courier program to any company that wants it. The downside? The delivery program's service area is still limited to just three cities: San Francisco, Chicago and New York.
Shyp helps reverse a tech trend by hiring contractors as staff
Tech companies like Uber may be fighting tooth and nail to keep their workers as contractors and avoid dealing with costs like insurance and taxes, but Shyp isn't having any of that. The shipping service has announced that it's treating all of its couriers as full-fledged employees, with all the benefits and covered expenses that come along for the ride. As the company explains, this isn't about thumbing a nose at anyone. Instead, the focus is on "owning" the whole experience and improving what you get. It's only really possible to offer better supervision and training to dedicated staff, Shyp's CEO says. Also, he's betting that this will pay dividends down the road as you deal with more committed, experienced couriers.
Amazon doesn't want states regulating courier drones
If you thought Amazon was already fighting tooth-and-nail for permission to fly delivery drones in the US, you haven't seen anything yet. The internet shopping giant has warned a House oversight committee that states and cities "must not be allowed" to regulate unmanned aircraft that get the Federal Aviation Administration's approval. There should be only one set of rules for airspace, purpose and qualifications, Amazon says. It's not hard to see why the company would be nervous -- it could be very tricky to run a nationwide courier drone service if some states have strict requirements or ban these services entirely.
Amazon tests courier drones in Canada to avoid US hassles
When Amazon said it would take its delivery drone testing abroad, it wasn't kidding. The Guardian has learned that the internet shopping giant is testing its robotic Prime Air couriers in Canada (the province of British Columbia, to be exact) to get around what it sees as frustratingly slow US approval. As Amazon's Paul Misener explains, the company isn't willing to wait until American regulators find an "impetus" to legalize these drones. It rejects the Federal Aviation Administration's portrayal of US airspace as uniquely complex. Canada and European countries also have a lot of air traffic, but they've still approved lots of testing and commercial drone flights.
Amazon's one-hour delivery is now available in all of Manhattan
Live or work in Manhattan? You now have an all-too-tempting way to impulse shop online. Amazon has confirmed to Mashable that its Prime Now delivery service is now available across the whole of the New York City borough, rather than the tiny area of before. If you just have to get some soap right after a sweaty Central Park run and don't want to visit a store, you can. It'll still cost $8 for the one-hour option (it's free for two) on top of your Prime subscription, of course. The big question is whether or not Amazon can expand Prime Now beyond Manhattan in a timely fashion -- that super-fast shipping depends on having a distribution center close by, which isn't as likely in less densely populated areas.
Drones are delivering tea in China
Hey, DHL: you're not the only one who can bring drone-based delivery to honest-to-goodness customers. Alibaba's online marketplace, Taobao, is running a real-world test that lets 450 people in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai order ginger tea and receive it from a UAV in less than an hour. The service will only be available from February 4th through February 6th, but it'll represent one of the first practical instances of delivery-by-drone in major urban areas. Sadly, you probably won't see something like this happen in the US for a while -- companies like Amazon are threatening to take their drone tests abroad because of government restrictions.
Star Citizen's latest ship is ready for the races
Not every spaceship is slated for combat or trade; some ships exist to go as fast as possible. The Origin M50, Star Citizen's newest offering, is a racing ship that can do double duty as a courier or interceptor. The craft is dominated by a pair of engines that provide an incredible amount of thrust and maneuverability. Players who cough up $90 can put one of these sleek machines in their collection right now. The devs promise that the M50 is "hanger-ready," meaning that you can admire it in person via the hanger module. Taking it out for a spin? That may be a while yet. [Thanks to James for the tip!]
Amazon is setting up a US delivery network to ship your orders faster
Amazon isn't waiting for the advent of courier drones to ship your orders faster than usual: the Wall Street Journal reports that the e-commerce giant has been testing its own US delivery network in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Described in job listings as Last Mile, the initiative is meant to outperform established shippers like FedEx and UPS. These companies are increasing costs, can't always meet capacity and are "impeding innovation in delivery services," Amazon says in one job description.