Have you ever been suddenly overtaken by the need for ice cream, but laziness or a lack of transportation is keeping you from running out and getting it yourself? Maybe, if it’s summer and you’re extremely lucky, fortune smiles upon you and the ice cream man shows up just in time. If not, the only other option is to use a grocery delivery service like Uber, Grubhub, or DoorDash, if available.
Those are your only options, for now. But that may all change soon, especially if you live or work in New York.
During a recent demonstration, Terra Drone Europe and consumer goods giant Unilever joined forces to explore drone-delivery of ice cream in New York. During Unilever’s annual investor event, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cups were delivered to a pre-determined destination by drone. The demo was conducted as part of Unilever’s established ice cream delivery service, “Ice Cream Now.”
During the demonstration, a multi-copter drone was fitted with a delivery box designed to carry three Ben & Jerry’s mini cups. A flight path was set beforehand to allow the drone to carry the ice cream cups inside Unilever’s U.S. facility.
Unilever launched Ice Cream Now, a delivery service for ice creams, in 2017, and the service has already grown into a huge business worldwide. With regulations around future drone flights expected to become more flexible, the consumer goods company is preparing for a drone logistics service that will deliver products to more customers faster.
“We want to solve serious problems in the logistics field, such as carbon dioxide emissions, with drones,” said Yuki Ueno, Director of Terra Drone Europe. “As deregulation progresses worldwide, drone delivery services will also increase.”
Tokyo, Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation has more than 25 branches spread globally throughout Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa, and Oceania. The company provides innovative enterprise drone services for oil and gas, utilities, renewables, mining, construction, and GIS sectors, among others.
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