Team-BHP - Drones deliver Pizza in Mumbai

Came across this interesting piece of info in one of the leading technology portals in India.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0if2PM6OBrI

Quote:

You order a pizza, and as always, 30 minutes later the door bell rings. You’re expecting a cheery delivery guy with the hot cheesy pizza you ordered. But wait, what if instead it’s being delivered by a flying drone?

A lesser-known pizza chain in Mumbai called Francesco’s Pizzeria, did just that last week. It succeeded in making a test-delivery, less than 3km away from its outlet in Lower Parel by using a remote-controlled, GPS-enabled drone. A four-rotor drone took off with the order from its outlet in central Mumbai’s Lower Parel area and delivered it to a high-rise building in adjacent Worli area. It dropped the 13-inch plain margherita pizza, weighing half a kilo, on the 21st floor rooftop before taking off again for the return journey. The speed with which the delivery was made thus beat the record for most leading pizza chains, which manually deliver pizzas within 30 minutes. The company claimed that it was the first time a drone has been used for such a purpose in the country.

Does this have the potential to develop into a successful commercial model and create a revolution in the world of logistics?

Full Article

That's a really cool video.

These guys deserves some 'props' for actually making a video, unlike Amazon who did nothing but talk... and got a ton of press from it!

I was surprised at the small size of the drone (given the range and payload). Perhaps the video was shot in multiple parts / segments?

The pilot too seems pretty experienced, given the way he exited the pizzeria, and went through the cement columns just before dropping the goods off.

cya
R

The Pizza outlet is already in trouble! :Frustrati

"The usage of unmanned drone for the first time in India by a city-based pizza shop for delivery here has come under scanner of Mumbai Police, which will seek an explanation from the outlet as to why it did not inform them before carrying out the experiment.

Police will also ask Air Traffic Controller whether Francesco’s Pizzeria outlet had a correspondence with them. When contacted, an ATC official said he did not know whether the outlet had sought permission from them."

Further Read - http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analy...ry-224286.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinair (Post 3439289)

The Pizza outlet is already in trouble!

Not too surprising!

In fact, from what I've heard, customs will stop you if you're trying to bring in a radio controlled helicopter into the country. Don't know if this is true (according to the law), but of course, tons of people bring em in without problems. I hope to as well!

In the US, they've just banned flying drones in all the national parks.

Anyway, back to Franchesco's - i remember reading in another article (was it TOI?) that they always flew below 400 ft for this escapade, and therefore did not need special permissions.

cya
R

If one is flying below 500 feet, its not commercial airspace, so ATC permission isn't needed. (imagine kite flyers seeking ATC clearance lol!)

I am in the process of making a video taken mostly from my phantom and will later upgrade to a 3-axis gimball and GoPro for the final takes.

Why do I need to take police or ATC permissions for that? I'm not breaking any laws or flying close to an airport or an approach corridor?
And that video too is for personal use only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinair (Post 3439289)

Although tehcnically/legally they probably should have taken "permission" from the police and the air traffic controller's office, it'll be really sad if they land into trouble for this awesome experiment. In fact, in college we used to fly all types of remote controlled drones during tech-fest days without even bothering to take "permission" from anyone. lol:

Anyways, a thumbs up initiative from an lesser known pizza shop.

Kudos to the guy who has flown the drone..!! He seems to have a lot of flying hours on it, the way he deftly maneuvers it out off the pizza place and also not to mention the winds the drone would have experienced. I own a Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0 which is very similar to this but believe me when I say this; it is not as easy as it looks.

This is a publicity stunt gone viral and gone wrong. The police is clueless because the laws don't apply in this case from my limited google in this subject. In fact, when its convenient drones are being used anyways by different authorities as per news articles. But this episode shows that the point of no return has come and that this technology will be available to the masses. That scares the authorities who're doing their best - clamp down. What next - tomorrow someone ties a GoPro to navratri kites and police will ban kite flying?

I'm not sure the authorities understand technology, much less figure out how to regulate it for public good. They are just reactively seen to be "acting" / "doing something".

I'm just happy this outlet triggered this debate finally :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha1 (Post 3439762)

Directorate General of Civil Aviation has nothing to say on this?

Mumbai Police to seek explanation on use of drone for pizza delivery

Quote:

The usage of unmanned drone for the first time in India by a city-based pizza shop for delivery here has come under scanner of Mumbai Police.

Today's Hindustan Times (newspaper) mentioned this:

Quote:

...The use did not violate any rule. There is no provision of any prior permission for such experiments, hence no case has been taken in this regard.

DGCA official