Fast-food restaurant chain KFC is partnering with on-demand drone delivery company Wing on a novel delivery service in Queensland, Australia.
KFC customers can get a range of hot and fresh menu items delivered directly to their homes and workplaces via a drone that travels at speeds approaching 110 km/h.
Alphabet-owned Wing says its software analyses 15 million simulations each day to detect changes in weather and terrain, continually improving the routing to create an optimal path for the drone to follow.
Believed to be an Australian-first, the drone delivery will initially be available to customers living in south east Queensland suburbs, including Kingston, Logan Central, Slacks Creek, Underwood and Woodridge. KFC plans to expand the service to other nearby locations.
KFC Australia chief marketing officer Kristi Woolrych said, “You know the future truly is here when you can get hot, fresh Kentucky Fried Chicken delivered by a drone from the click of a few buttons.”
A subsidiary of Alphabet, Wing says customers within the trial area will be able to place their orders through its delivery app. Once an order is placed, it will be prepared at a KFC kitchen and a Wing drone dispatched to the restaurant.
Here the drone lowers a tether and the food package is securely attached. The drone pulls in the tether, travels to the delivery destination and lowers the package releasing it safely into the expectant hands of the customer.
Wing Queensland city manager Dave Ojiako-Pettit said, “We’re excited to be teaming up with KFC, to expand their delivery options for customers by taking its customer favourites to new heights, through the skies of Logan, Queensland – the drone delivery capital of the world.”
