While drones dropping off your food or medicine order is no longer the stuff of science-fiction movies, there are still a number of things that need to happen before that becomes a daily reality for most people.
And, while a lot of companies want you to think that drones will be replacing delivery trucks, that may not be what happens. Right now, that's not very practical as can you imagine what that might look like in a crowded city?
How exactly would a drone drop off your tacos or toothpaste without someone getting hurt? Could that even happen without the drone being damaged (people are not always kind)? It seems cool, and Amazon (AMZN) has certainly stoked that idea with the footage it has shared of its Amazon Prime Air drones.
Reality, at least in the near term, may mean using drones in an entirely different way.
And while drones dropping treats at your door is how many of us want to envision the future, that may never be common in highly-populated areas. That is, however, far from the only way that shipping and delivery companies can use this type of technology to their advantage. FedEx FedEx will soon start testing cargo drones that move items between different storage and sorting facilities.
What Is Middle-Mile Delivery (And Why Does It Matter)?
Mid-mile delivery is the interim step (or steps) before your item ends up at your door. Have you ever looked at the tracking FedEx shares with you where your package might make multiple stops after it gets dropped off, but before it gets delivered? Those steps are mid-mile, while actually bringing the package to you is last-mile.
FedEx will be testing a hybrid-electric plane that can land or take off without a pilot or a runway for mid-mile use. That's a fancy way to say the company is testing delivery drones to bring freight between its facilities.
The new aircraft is built by Bay Area-based airplane startup Elroy Air and is used to transport items between different storage facilities used by FedEx Express. Elroy Air's Chaparral can carry up to 500 pounds of cargo and, flying at low altitude, deliver it up to 300 miles away. Once the packages are processed and sorted, they would still likely be delivered to the final destination by land.
"When you’re not limited by challenging infrastructure, traffic, or airports, logistics can reach more people, faster than ever before," Kofi Asante, Elroy Air's VP of business development and strategy, said in a statement. "We look forward to working together to create a new future for how we get goods to people around the world."
These facilities are often outside of populated areas. That should make it easier to clear flight paths and prove a limited risk to the public as this drone freight technology gets tested.
What Are Amazon and Walmart Doing With Drones?
This type of middle-mile drone delivery is a sharp detour from companies that promise to drop customers' packages from the sky and to one's doorstep. Amazon's plans to begin testing drone deliveries by the end of 2022 were recently leaked to Business Insider.
Walmart (WMT) started delivering medicine and wellness supplies to some remote locations in Arkansas last November while Israeli drone company Flytrex recently received Federal Aviation Administration clearance to start making drone deliveries for restaurants like Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy in some parts of Texas.
FedEx's flights may sound less exciting but could, arguably, be just as important in making the use of drones mainstream. Testing of these types of middle-mile delivery flights is slated to start by 2023.
"We are always looking toward new technologies to help enhance the logistics industry through improved safety, efficiency, and customer service," Joe Stephens, FedEx Express' senior vice president of global planning, engineering, and technology, said in a statement.
