We’ve all seen, or heard the stories in which a brand is “testing” the delivery capability of drones (e.g. UPS, Amazon, Domino’s, etc.). In many of these cases, the drone is piloted by a person – but that won’t be cost-efficient if drone delivery is to become a larger practice.
In reality, these drones would need to be flying autonomously – and that means there needs to be a way to keep track of them. Think of it as air-traffic control for drones, and that is one step closer to becoming reality with today’s news in Recode.
AirMap, a company that provides airspace services platforms, announced $26 million in a new round of investor funding. AirMap’s platform is already being used by hundreds of customers and has tracked millions(!) of drone flights.
We’re still several years away from drones becoming a bigger part of our airspace, but it’s clear in the work of companies like AirMap that the future will be here in very short order.
Implications:
- Well, it’d be cool to order a TV and have it delivered by a drone (soon, but not now)
- This could – dare I say – disrupt package delivery as we know it (think USPS)
- Delivery may no longer be a binary choice (home, or office)