Skynet is no longer the work of science fiction. Kroger, the retail conglomerate which owns popular subsidiaries such as QFC, Ralphs, and Fred Meyer, announced in a press release on Tuesday May 3rd that they’ll be rolling out pilots of drone deliveries in the coming weeks, targeting widespread rollout in late Spring. The initial phase of pilots will begin in Ohio and continue forward to California.
The drones will deliver groceries weighing up to 5 pounds in as little as 15 minutes and feature curated bundles such as s’mores, baby formula and wipes, and over the counter medicine. They can also pinpoint the customer’s location via smartphones, so deliveries can be made to nearly any terrain including parks, beaches, or backyards.
Kroger isn’t the only chain experimenting with drones. Both Amazon and Walmart have been piloting drone deliveries in the across the US and in the UK. Walmart most recently tested its delivery service in North Carolina, while Amazon launch Prime Air in 2016 in Cambridge, England.
The news from Kroger was released just a day after Amazon received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin operating its fleet in the United States.
The autonomous delivery arms race is just beginning.
