Chipotle Is Testing Out Delivery by Drone

In Virginia, burritos are taking to the skies. Tech Crunch reports that Chipotle and Alphabet are teaming up to deliver burritos by drone to hungry students at Virginia Tech. If the test program is successful, airborne burrito deliveries could one day become the norm.

Alphabet’s drone team, Project Wing, is running the experimental program on the campus of Virginia Tech starting next week and will recruit students and faculty to participate by ordering burritos from a set delivery area. Chipotle will prep food from a truck on campus, then load their tasty cargo onto Project Wing’s drones.

Since the U.S. has strict regulations on where it is appropriate to fly an unmanned aerial system (UAS), the entire test will occur on a closed test site. That means students won’t be ordering burritos from their dorm rooms, or watching drones deposit burritos on their classmates’ desks during lectures. However, the project may help Alphabet and Chipotle take major steps towards making drone food deliveries a reality, allowing Alphabet to work out the kinks of UAS delivery in a safe environment, and giving Chipotle a chance to figure out the best way to transport their foodstuffs.

An Alphabet spokesperson told Tech Crunch, “We’re increasingly optimistic about the potential for UAS to open up entirely new approaches to the transportation of and delivery of goods, including options that are cheaper, faster, less wasteful and more environmentally sensitive than what’s possible today with ground transportation.”

[h/t Tech Crunch]

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