What is 'Zipline' - a drone delivery service?
A company called
2024 Behind the Scenes with Zipline - YouTube
The Drone-Delivery Service Beating Amazon to Your Front Door - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/the-drone-delivery-service-beating-amazon-to-your-front-door-1ad898b4
You can see Zipline's drone in action in the video below.
How Zipline Delivers with Platform 2 - YouTube
First, the user places an order in the app. In this example, juice and salad are ordered.
When an order is received, a pod for storing the package separates from the drone installed at the delivery center and descends while being suspended by a cable.
The descended pod enters the duct, where a person in charge of loading the luggage is waiting.
Humans store goods in pods.
The pod returns to the drone.
It flies to the user.
Once at a location specified by the user, the drone will hover in the air and drop off the pod.
The pod lands and opens its abdomen.
Leave your luggage and ascend.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo argues that the current delivery methods, such as cars, are outdated and cannot keep up with the growing demand, and are also bad for the environment, so next-generation delivery methods such as drones are needed. He says that Zipline's drones can deliver packages up to 8 pounds (about 3.6 kg), and in the future, it will be possible to deliver millions of medicines and pharmaceuticals per day.
A feature of Zipline's drone is that the drone itself waits in the sky and drops off the cargo, which reduces noise compared to similar drones from other companies. It is also protected against rain, wind, and heat, so it can be delivered even in bad weather.
If the cable becomes tangled with electric wires and it becomes impossible to lift the object, the cable can be cut as a last resort.
Even if someone grabs the pod, it can be safely detached.
The pod is also equipped with a parachute to ensure a safe return if the cable is cut in mid-air.
The parent drone also has a parachute that will deploy in case of an emergency.
Zipline Shorts | Minimizing risk with multi-layer safety - YouTube
Drones have also been tested in Rwanda, where they delivered over 500 packages and 7,000 products in 24 hours.
24 hours of national-scale instant logistics in Rwanda | January 2025 - YouTube
At the time of writing, Zipline is partnering with Walmart to deliver in the US, and is soon to begin delivering for the fast food chain Chipotle. It has also signed contracts with dozens of other retailers, restaurants, and health systems, and plans to set up small collection points for future partners.
In the United States, there is a movement to allow drones for package delivery, and on March 14, 2025, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said that the Federal Aviation Administration will soon announce new rules to make it easier to approve delivery services using automated drones. Until now, companies have had to obtain individual permission to fly drones autonomously, but there are apparently efforts to simplify that process.
Zipline has ensured safety through tests such as shaking drones violently to simulate stormy weather, freezing and baking parts to simulate long-term wear and tear, etc. 'Our drones have flown 100 million autonomous miles with zero safety incidents,' Rinaudo said.
Zipline Shorts | How testing for failures improves safety - YouTube
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