Domino’s is testing the feasibility of delivering hot pizza direct to your door via octocopter drones.
Branded the DomiCopter, the current prototype can deliver two, large pizzas in about ten minutes within a four mile radius of the store. While future versions could hypothetically use GPS coordinates to deliver the pie, the existing model is piloted from the ground by someone experienced in drone flight. No flying permits are needed to operate the drone up to 126 meters off the ground, as detailed by NBC News recently; only permission of the landowner is required. Other tools that can be used with the drone include on-board GPS, air pressure sensors and an electronic compass.
“If anything, it went quicker than a pizza boy,” T + Biscuits founder Tom Hatton said when asked about the feasibility of using the DomiCopter drone. “We were amazed at how easy it was going to be.” Hatton was referencing the time required to navigate roads as well as stop at red lights.
It’s official, I will now join the Luddites, where are the meetings held again?
Rouge Pizza!!
Red pizza?
“Its cheaper than the alternative.” /// Why will it not be used then?
Luddite is very a very general term. I suppose it can cover a host of more specific and revelatory attributes?????
I had a similar itch/uncomfortable feeling about driverless cars but they seem to be gaining headway…. legislatively if not on the road yet?
The Future. Care to join us?
As much as all everyone hates it, this is where government needs to get involved and regulate this disaster in the making:
Curious small children losing limbs and teens shooting them down to name a few.
Imagine NFL sundays with the sounds of drones buzzing above.
“Payton and Papa’s drone is faster than……,ugh.”
Please self regulate and refuse to accept the delivery
Pizza will be there in 25 Minutes for $25 by car….
… or….
20 Minutes and $20 by RoboQuad.
What will it be??
Star Trek Into Darkness is coming to movie theaters soon, and to build up buzz–literally–the studio flew 30 quadrocopter drones, each equipped with bright LED lights, in a formation over nighttime London.
http://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HBTWl-DtKdM
The bullshit meter doesn’t go over far enough to the right.
Its cheaper, its faster. I can see GPS autopilot programs making it even moreso in the future.
Mr D… why will the foundation stones of the competitive market place not apply to this excellent example of basic business principles of competition and public service?
Why not?
You are far from being stupid but you honestly can’t believe that this would ever be instituted.
It is close enough to the ground to take out with a shotgun, especially during takeoff/landing phase. You need permission of the landowner.
Drone pilots any easier to train than a moron with a driver’s license? I don’t think so.
I would be fine and would support a computer controlled Google car to just pull up. Less chance of something being wrong and it would be easier to steal.
Of course one way around that is to force anyone wanting a pizza that they must pay with CC.
There are some things that do not lend themselves to automation and this is one of them.
There are some things that do not lend themselves to automation and this is one of them.
I vehemently disagree. I can easily see some kind of low altitude air traffic control system for low weight drone deliveries like this. And if a drone happens to crash, what’s the worst that would happen? Tiny pizza bits and small plastic electro/chopper blades winding up in a field or on someones roof or something? Have you never experienced a flock of birds crapping on your car or driving through a cloud of insects? I hardly think a fleet of low weight drones is going to make much of a difference.
GPS is already in place meaning half the work is already done! So if you can call for a delivery with your exact GPS location, you too can have pizza and beer at your next camp out and not have to carry anything other than a credit card.
… It will put even more people out of work all for the sake of our convenience. Way to go you smart but stupid techo-(pronouns). Let’s automate the world and maybe we can eliminate the very reason to live – or at least go to work.
Just put a helicopter landing pad on the window ledge by your easy-chair and you won’t even have to get your fat arse up from in front of your satellite/cable tv shows to get your pizza. :-p
And you wonder the country is falling apart. :-/
If it were actually possible for someone to develop a matter transporter, the last on the list of desired uses would be to beam people to hospitals for medical emergencies, and first on the list would be to beam some hoagies and pizza and coke to your fat lazy arse. 😉
I see a few possible problems with this.
– That pizza is going to be so cold!
– Okay, so you wrap it in one of those thermally insulated containers — how do you keep the customer from keeping that?
– For that matter, how do you keep someone from grabbing the drone itself?
– Where do you put the cash? (Not everyone wants to put every pizza on a credit card.)
– If the order is wrong, whom do you complain to?
– BBs embedded in the box and/or pizza
– Bird crap/bugs embedded in the pizza
– Rain-soaked pizza
– Apartment buildings: can’t see that thing navigating interior hallways
– How is it going to knock on doors?
All great points.
The project could be short-lived once a franchise has to get a whopping insurance plan that covers potential damage or harm if this thing drops out of the sky or a propeller takes out an eye.
Dominos should invest in making better food instead of replacing a minimum wage delivery guy.
Delivery drivers pay their own insurance. Who covers the drones? Dominoes? I bet that alone will sink this deal.
Sounds like you don’t use or have a ‘smart phone’. Sounds like you don’t have or use a credit card. Sounds like you aren’t aware of CAMERAS or WiFi or any of the other EXISTING technologies.
Let’s look at what you said and then THINK for a minute:
– That pizza is going to be so cold! (DO YOU REALLY THINK BILL GATES HAS BEEN TWIDDLING HIS THUMBS SINCE RETIRING FROM MICROSOFT? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD ABOUT HIS RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH NON-POWERED REFRIGERATION? OR MAYBE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF THE EXISTING ABILITIES TO KEEP THINGS HOT – LIKE ELECTRIC THERMOCOUPLES OR EVEN SOLAR!)
– Okay, so you wrap it in one of those thermally insulated containers — how do you keep the customer from keeping that? (LOW COST! or SURCHARGE THE CUSTOMER. I MEAN, DUH!!!)
– For that matter, how do you keep someone from grabbing the drone itself? (AGAIN, LOW COST OR SURCHARGE THE CUSTOMER. THERE’S ALSO TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES LIKE LOWJACK TO DETECT PROBLEMS AND THERE ARE EVEN THESE THINGS CALLED CAMERAS TOO! HELLO?!!!)
– Where do you put the cash? (Not everyone wants to put every pizza on a credit card.) (HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN TO A MCDONALDS OR NEARLY ANY OTHER LARGE FRANCHISE LIKE THAT? AT LEAST HALF OF THEIR BUSINESS IS IN CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS NOW! POINT IS, PEOPLE USE CREDIT CARDS. BUT IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A DEAD BEAT OR SOMETHING YOU CAN STILL ALTERNATELY GET GIFT CARDS OR EVEN PRE-PAID CREDIT CARDS AT WALMART, 7-11, ETC.! THIS IS SUCH A NON-ISSUE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN.)
– If the order is wrong, whom do you complain to? (IF YOU DON’T THINK A REAL PERSON DELIVERING SOMETHING TO YOU IS GOING TO BE ANY DIFFERENT OR THAT YOU CAN’T USE A PHONE TO COMPLAIN THEN THINK AGAIN!)
– BBs embedded in the box and/or pizza (SOUNDS LIKE THAT’S HAPPENED BEFORE! BUT ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO DO THERE IS REFUSE DELIVERY – LIKE ANY OTHER DELIVERY SERVICE.)
– Bird crap/bugs embedded in the pizza (USE A SEALED BOX! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY THAT SHORT SIGHTED TO NOT SEE A BETTER BOX BEING THE FIRST IMPROVEMENT FROM WHAT WE SAW IN THE VIDEO?)
– Rain-soaked pizza (AGAIN, PUT IT IN A SEALED TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED BOX?!)
– Apartment buildings: can’t see that thing navigating interior hallways (EVER HEAR OF WHEELS?!)
– How is it going to knock on doors? (CALL THE CUSTOMERS PHONE! I MEAN, ARE YOU SO BRAINWASHED AS TO THINK THAT IT HAS TO KNOCK LIKE A HUMAN? EVER HEAR OF A HORN?! COME ON!!! THINK!)
“It’s official, I will now join the Luddites, where are the meetings held again?”
We’re meeting at ol’man Jenkins. You have to bring your own hay bale to sit on. We ain’t got none of them new-fangled chair things.
OK, synchronize sundials in 5,4,3,2,1 mark.
Conspicuous consumption.
Gotta agree with the pegged BS meter. How is the drone going to collect payment?
Dominos is an excellent tasting pizza, especially since their redesign. Their sandwiches are good too.
Not in my neck of the woods. Perhaps I should move?
Gee. With a pellet gun and a ski mask, you could get free pizza, within four miles of any Dominoes Pizza. Just can’t be too chosey about what variety falls from the sky. Tip: don’t down it, near where you live. Or let the camera see your car make or license plate. 🙂 But hurry. This opportunity won’t last long.
These quadrocopters could be armed with sensors and when a perceived attack is detected a swarm of small stinging microcopters could intercede. Still science fiction?
The airspace corridors for transporting commercial items will be Federal airspace. Food, meds, and other items will be sent to your address to a specific landing area and only purchasable by credit cards and received only after an iris scan. Sounds crazy but the future could be bright if we can find a very reliable renewable source of energy. The combustion powered automobile will be a thing of the past. No need to drive to have Amazon deliver you your Italian hoagie. Almost anything is possible with the emerging technology.
No tip…Drone his ass!