On an overcast Monday in May,I joine
in a parking lot behind a San DiegoMc
to witness the future of fooddelive
center of a large area cordonedo
low crime-scene tape sat a 4-foo
armed AR200 drone with acust
payloadbox.
I’dcometowatchUberEle
armofthe$72billionride-sharingser
fooddeliverybydrone.Theoriginalplan
observethedramatictransportofa BigMac,
McNuggets,andtwoordersoffriesa half-mileawaytot
entranceoftheViejasArenaatSanDiegoStateUniversit
Butwiththewindclockinginat26 knots—classified
a “strongbreeze”ontheBeaufortscale—thattripwa
canceled. Theburger-bearing drone instead ros
25 feetintheair,hoveredforabout60 seconds,the
slowly descended.
It wasaninauspiciousdebutfor one ofUbe
Elevate’s keynewprograms.Google already
approvalfromtheFederalAviationAdministrat
tomakeunmannedcommercialdeliveriesaspartofitsWing
programinBlacksburg,Va.Thismonth,Amazon.comInc.
unveileda revolutionarydroneit hopeswilldeliverhouse-
holdgoods.
ButtheteambehindUberElevate—whichis stillwaitingon
FAAapproval—believestheserviceis thefutureoffooddeliv-
ery.Thecompanyanticipatesitscommercialbusinesswill
beginlaterthissummerinSanDiegoandplanstosetpricing
fordronedeliverythen.
ParentcompanyUberTechnologiesInc.hash
a turbulentyear,losing$1billioninthefirstqua
afteritswidelyhypedinitialpublicoffering.ButUber
Eatshasbeena brightspot,reportingrevenueof$1.5 bil-
lionin2018,almost150%higherthana yearearlier.“What’s
convincedmeondronedeliveryis toseehowUberEatshas
grown,”saysEricAllison,headofUberElevateanda veteranofLarryPage’sflyingcarcompanyZee. rs
wantselection,quality,andefficiency—allareas ve
withdrone delivery.”
Over the next four years, the food-deliverybusinessis
stimated to increase 12% a year, to $76 billion in 2022, says
vestment firm Cowen Inc. Uber isn’t disclosing the cost
drone testing, but according to filings in advance of
itsIPO, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, which
cludesUberElevateand the company’s self-driving
carunit,spentabout$457million on research and devel-
in2018.
o is a hotbedof drone research. That’s
t itsmilitary presence but also
Maytest notwithstanding—
r is reliably sunny and calm. In
AAselected San Diego as one of
nsto test commercial drones.
r Elevate has no immediate plans
d drones to your home. Instead,
y todesignatedsafelandingzones
waitingcourierswillpickupdeliver-
ringtoyourdoor.Anotheroptionis to
n theroofofa parkedUbercar,which
thefoodthelastlegtoitsdestination.
area stickingpoint:A midaircollision
devices—andtheirburgers—ontounsus-
cting iansbelow.Noisepollutionfromwhirring
torsis anotherconcern.
KateFraser,headofaviation policyatUberElevate,
elievesit willtakeatleastthreeyearstobroadlyimplement
theserviceinmajorcities,butthecompanyis bettingcus-
tomerswillcomearoundtotheconvenience.Fora delivery
1.5 milesaway,groundtransportationaverages21 minutes;
dronescanmakethetripinabout7 minutes.Thecompany
isalsobullishonverticaltakeoff andlandingvehiclesfor
peopleandpredictsyou’llbetappinganUberAirbuttonon
yoursmartphoneby2023.
Formostoftheprocess,Uberhasbeenworkingwith
McDonald’s.Alongwithtestingflightpaths,theteamhas
spentmonthsdesigningpackagesthatkeepburgersintact,
frenchfrieshot,andicecreamcold.
A partnerwasaddedtothepilotprograminMay,when
SanDiegorestaurantJuniper& Ivysignedontodeliverits
popular$21off-the-menudouble-pattyburger.(Itmakesonly
10 pernightanddoesn’tcurrentlydeliver.)OwnerMichael
senis debatingwhetherhe’llusetherestaurantkitchen
senda cookoff-sitetopreparethem.“Tosendan
ployeeoff-sitewouldbea moneyloserforus,”he
concedes.“ButtoteamupwithUberis public-
y wewillpayfor.”66
ALAMY (2). GETTY IMAGESThe first dronefooddel
is on track forthissu
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