Restaurant Industry Trends: The Future of Food Delivery With Drones

 

Although every human is unique, there are certain similarities among us when it comes to our preferences for eating. All of us consider tasty food as a reward. Every time we eat, our taste senses want to be treated like royalty. Good cuisine is something we all crave, and a welcoming environment is the icing on the cake.

In addition to our mutual need for food, all of us have another goal: a drive for improved technology. Particularly when it comes to an online ordering system for restaurants, we have observed an exponential surge in the development of logistics.

Machines now produce our food, a sign of how far humanity has advanced. So why stop there? Our food can be delivered to us via technology. They're known as drones.  Drones have gained a lot of popularity recently. Drones have found a market in a variety of businesses, from beautiful picture shoots by photographers to cross-border monitoring by soldiers.

This technology has a wide range and has the potential to completely alter how people obtain their food. Your favorite restaurants will soon be able to airlift your food to your front door. All they need to do is develop their own version of food ordering software and perhaps include drones in it.

What is Drone Delivery?

A new technique for delivering goods to customers is using drones. This type of delivery transferred the duty to a drone rather than concentrating on conventional delivery techniques, such as persons delivering via vehicle, bicycle, or truck. Orders are prepared, attached to the drones, and flown between 200 and 400 feet in the air with permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to deliver goods to customers. The drones are self-contained; some communicate by satellite, while others use GPS, or cameras to find their way. Most of the time, drone operators supervise all activities to make sure everything runs well.

With such cutting-edge innovation, many are left wondering if food can be delivered by drone. The earliest mention of drone delivery dates back to 2013 when a business stated it would start testing the technology. However, several of its experiments and ambitions were never completed. However, according to Forbes, pizza was delivered by drone in New Zealand in 2016. One of the earliest successful drone delivery missions was this one. Since then, several other firms have started collaborating in order to advance drone delivery services.

Are you still unsure of them? Here are some potential advantages of these flying creatures in the future:

Flying Food! Future Food Delivery Service

Expeditious Delivery At Your Doorstep

Do you know what’s worst aspect of online food ordering is? Yes, it is the time between placing an order and receiving it. Just think back to the last time when you were super hungry, and you ordered your favorite Kentucky Fried Chicken using a mobile app ordering. And thinking about taking a piece of that mouthwatering slice made you drool the entire time. However, all of a sudden, your delivery boy called to say that he was caught in traffic and would be able to deliver it late.  

Yes, it hurt a lot!

However, while drones are delivering your food, they’re not required to stuck in traffic signals or drive through roads to deliver. To ensure that you receive your food at the proper temperature, these devices will cut through the air. Deliveries made by drones move much more quickly than those made by traditional techniques. Without considering unexpected or unplanned delays like mistaken turns, getting lost, or being trapped in traffic, bike or automobile deliveries can take more than 30 minutes. Drone deliveries have the ability to be finished in under 30 minutes since they have a direct flight path and can deliver orders considerably more quickly. Customers are more likely to choose this service in the future if they are happy with how quickly they receive their meal as a result.

Real-Time Monitoring

The drones have real-time monitoring capabilities built right in. The inability of firms focused on logistics to track the delivery vehicle in real-time is their primary issue. It results in fuel and cargo theft. Additionally, it harms the company's reputation and efficiency.

However, this issue may be considerably reduced by using drones. With the aid of a seamless connection with the restaurant ordering system, you will be able to follow the flight route and real-time status of your drone. Customers will be more engaged as a result of being able to track the location of their food in real-time. 

Cost - Effective

Customers prefer not just a quick delivery service, but also one that is cost-effective. When it comes to food delivery costs, they keep rising, especially when working with outside firms. Many services increase delivery costs, often to a level that matches or exceeds the cost of the initial purchase. Because they go toward compensating the driver, many delivery fees are sometimes expensive.

Restaurants currently find themselves in a losing situation. They either need to upcharge the customers to balance those high rates, which might result in the customer leaving their business elsewhere, or they need to take money out of their own earnings, which is harmful to them over the long term. Due to the absence of manpower, using drones results in significantly reduced delivery costs. As a result, delivery costs can be decreased to a more reasonable level, which is advantageous for both the customer and the restaurant.

Expanded Customer Base

Having food delivered might be an advantageous choice for persons who frequently struggle to leave their homes or who live in remote areas. Similar to that, the speed at which drone delivery may be accomplished can be advantageous to these individuals. Given that drones can go far, people who reside far away can place enormous delivery orders at your restaurant.

Restaurants may be able to increase their customer base as a result. Restaurants frequently have a restricted delivery area, which means that they only provide delivery to residences that are within a specific distance from the restaurant. However, since drivers won't need to go far, drone delivery enables businesses to increase their delivery area. This helps them expand their consumer base and advance their business.

Better for Ecosystem

The ecosystem can benefit from drone delivery. Drone delivery can reduce the number of vehicles and other fuel-emitting vehicles on the road. This service can aid in lowering carbon emissions because drones require power to operate. Of course, it would need to be a more popular method of food delivery for this to be a large and lasting effect. This would need the deployment of drone delivery by many more restaurants in place of the current delivery techniques, which may take years.

“When making a decision of minor importance, I’ve always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons”- Sigmund Freud

Let’s look into some cons while using drone delivery services.

Cons of Drone Food Delivery Service

The future of food delivery apps will include a lot more drones. We become exposed to new services as technology develops. However, despite the fact that using drones to deliver food has numerous advantages, there are some disadvantages as well.

• Weather - Unfavorable weather, such as a lot of wind or rain, makes it difficult for drones to fly. As a result, drones are less reliable since they can't operate or deliver under some weather conditions.

• Accessibility - The only places where drone delivery works well are in the suburbs; urban areas would not be suitable. A drone food delivery service would not be available to residents in apartment complexes.

• Safety - Although the technology must be evaluated and certified before these drones may fly, there is always a chance for mistakes or accidents. If there is a defect or error, drones that are in the air or that are low enough to drop food into customers' homes may raise a safety risk.

• Privacy - A lot of people could be concerned about the drones' lack of privacy given that they might be equipped with cameras in order for them to fly. While some drones have no cameras at all, others do have low-resolution cameras that are required for flying and can cause some customers to worry about their privacy. 

Final Say

The exact future of drone food delivery is unclear. While some companies already provide food delivery in collaboration with restaurants, it is only a choice in a few places. It's possible that it takes at least a year for this service to become mainstream, even though other businesses and restaurants plan to keep conducting trials and providing it in the future. We may aim for a system that provides fast, reasonably priced, and realistic food delivery as we look into the future of drone delivery.