By Claire Hibbit
7-Eleven in the US has conducted its first autonomous drone delivery, bringing slurpees, a chicken sandwich, doughnuts and hot coffee right to a customer’s doorstep.
The delivery, in partnership with US drone delivery service Flirtey, was conducted in celebration of the convenience chain’s 89th birthday. The drone delivery is the first time a US customer has received a package to their home via drone.
At a Reno, Nevada 7 Eleven store, two deliveries were successfully completed. 7 Eleven merchandise – including hot and cold food items – was loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house. Once at the customer’s backyard, the Flirtey drone hovered in place and lowered each package.
The purchases were delivered to the residents in the span of a few minutes. Products included Slurpee drinks, a chicken sandwich, doughnuts, hot coffee and 7-Select candy. In the future, both companies expect drone packages to include “everyday essentials” such as batteries and sunscreen.
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This story first appeared in C&I Week.