Walmart is making moves into drones — here's how they plan to do it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chick-fil-A began testing drone delivery in Texas and North Carolina last year. </li><li>Last week, the chain expanded the drone service test to Florida. </li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-drive-thru-only-restaurantphotos-2022-10">Chick-fil-A</a> is stepping up its drone delivery experiment by adding food drops in Florida.</p><p>The chain, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-massive-drive-thrus-problems-local-businesses-2021-2">known for its busy drive-thru lanes</a>, began testing drone delivery at a Brandon, Florida, location last week, according to the restaurant's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/CFAE.BrandonValricoFSU/">social media</a> pages.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Czl6QBVrWV6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; 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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Czl6QBVrWV6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Chick-fil-A E. Brandon-Valrico (@chickfila_valrico)</a></p></div></blockquote> <p>Chick-fil-A restaurants in Granbury, Texas, and Durham, North Carolina, have been testing drone deliveries since September 2022.</p><p>"Chick-fil-A is always exploring new ways to provide the best experience for our guests. We are in the early stages of testing drone delivery at a small number of Chick-fil-A restaurants," the chain told Business Insider on Monday.</p><p>In Florida, customers within the restaurant's drone drop zone can order delivery by drone through the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-mobile-apps-nations-top-10-restaurant-chains-starbucks-chipotle-2023-11">Chick-fil-A app</a>. The food is delivered in a cardboard box and delivered to backyards. The drone never lands. It hovers over a yard and lowers the food using a wire.</p><p>According to a behind-the-scenes video posted on Instagram, the chain is working with DroneUp, a Virginia Beach, Virginia drone company that also works with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2023/02/08/how-drone-tampa-walmart-makes-deliveries/">Walmart</a>.</p><p>Drone delivery is still experimental in the US but is catching on among top retailers and restaurant chains.</p><p>Flytrex, a Tel Aviv-based ultrafast drone delivery service operating across the US, told Business Insider it has been working with Chick-fil-A restaurants in Texas and North Carolina since September 2022. The company also provides drone service for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-chain-el-pollo-loco-to-launch-drone-delivery-with-flytrex-2021-6">Walmart</a>, Raising Cane's, Papa Johns, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jersey-mikes-vs-subway-deli-sandwiches-review-and-photos-2023-9">Jersey Mike's Subs</a>, Unilever's The Ice Cream Shop, Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, Little Caesars, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flytrex-delivers-starbucks-lattes-drones-backyard-sky-drops-2021-2">Starbucks</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chilis-is-testing-drones-robots-to-save-on-delivery-fees-2022-5#:~:text=Eligible%20households%20in%20North%20Carolina,chicken%20brand%2C%20It's%20Just%20Wings.">Chili's</a>.</p><p>It previously tested drone delivery with Southern California-based fast-food chain <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-chain-el-pollo-loco-to-launch-drone-delivery-with-flytrex-2021-6">El Pollo Loco</a>. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-drone-delivery-joke-so-far-delivers-single-items2023-11">Amazon</a> is also testing drone delivery in California and Texas.</p><p>Chick-fil-A and its franchisees have been testing autonomous technologies to streamline operations for over a year.</p><p>In May 2022, the chain started <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.chick-fil-a.com/stories/inside-chick-fil-a/robots-innovate-chick-fil-a-delivery-experience"><u>testing</u></a> autonomous delivery robots in a limited number of California, Texas, and Florida restaurants. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-tests-food-serving-robots-in-texas-2023-9">In the fall of this year, a restaurant in Texas began using a robot named Wall-E to deliver food to dine-in customers</a>.</p><p><em>Are you a Chick-fil-A insider with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at </em><a target="_blank" href="mailto:nluna@insider.com"><em><u>nluna@insider.com</u></em></a><em>.</em></p>

Some Chick-fil-A customers can now skip the drive-thru and have their chicken sandwiches delivered by drone      

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11893281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart" source="Orion">Walmart</keyword> is expanding <keyword id="12004323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drone" source="Orion">drone</keyword> <keyword id="11922166" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="delivery" source="Orion">delivery</keyword> to six states and four million households.</li><li>Customers primarily use the service for last-minute convenience needs, like food and medications.</li></ul><p>Walmart just announced plans to expand its drone delivery program to reach four million Americans by the end of the year, and it also revealed some information from deliveries so far. </p><p><keyword id="14028963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hamburger-helper" source="Orion">Hamburger Helper</keyword> is the best-selling item at one of the delivery hubs, senior VP of innovation and automation at Walmart David Guggina <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2022/05/24/were-bringing-the-convenience-of-drone-delivery-to-4-million-u-s-households-in-partnership-with-droneup">wrote in a blog post.</a> So far, customers primarily use the service for convenience, like "a quick fix for a weeknight meal," such as hot dog buns, Guggina wrote. Other sellers include diapers and over the counter medications like Tylenol.</p><p>Walmart buyers in the delivery range can order items totaling up to 10 pounds for drone delivery, and anything that fits safely in the drone is eligible, Walmart said. The service costs $3.99 and is available from 8 am to 8 pm. </p><p>Walmart completed hundreds of deliveries in the past few months with positive feedback from customers, it said in the post. </p><p>The <keyword id="6372044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="grocery" source="Orion">grocery</keyword> chain is growing its partnership with DroneUp to create 34 delivery sites in 2022, offering grocery delivery by drone to customers in six states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia with the capacity to complete one million deliveries by the end of the year.</p><p>Walmart has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-walmarts-increasing-drone-delivery-network-2021-12#since-september-2020-walmart-has-partnered-with-three-drone-delivery-startup-companies-including-flytrex-zipline-and-droneup-to-create-a-diverse-operation-2">partnered with other drone companies</a> in the past, including Flytrex in Zipline in addition to DroneUp. In 2020, senior vice president for last-minute delivery Tom Ward told Insider the different partnerships were part of Walmart's experimentation "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-walmarts-increasing-drone-delivery-network-2021-12#in-an-interview-with-insiders-ine-cain-in-2020-tom-ward-the-retailers-senior-vice-president-for-last-minute-delivery-said-each-device-offers-something-different-and-the-company-has-been-experimenting-to-increase-delivery-speed-and-convenience-in-a-very-new-and-innovative-way-3">to increase [delivery] speed</a> and convenience in a very new and innovative way."</p><p>Other companies have also experimented with drone delivery in recent years. <keyword id="11893181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> is running a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-beta-test-drone-delivery-prime-air-california-texas-2022-3">small test program with Prime Air drone deliveries</a> this year, Insider reported. Google's drone delivery arm, Wing, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drone-delivery-company-partners-walgreens-store-door-air-delivery-service-2021-10">partnered with Walgreens</a> to distribute food, medications, and other household necessities in 2021, and UPS started delivering prescriptions by drone with UPS in 2020.</p><p><em>Do you have a story to share about a <keyword id="11893588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail" source="Orion">retail</keyword> or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at <a href="mailto:mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com">mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com</a>.</em></p>

Walmart reveals the items customers are ordering for drone delivery the most

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6391475" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="coca-cola">Coca-Cola</keyword> with Coffee is now available across the US, and comes in three flavors.</li><li>The <keyword id="6382707" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drinks">drinks</keyword> giant is celebrating the launch by delivering cans via <keyword id="6354474" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drone">drone</keyword> in Coffee County, Georgia.</li><li>The drink is already available overseas.</li></ul><p>Coca-Cola is rolling out its Coca-Cola with Coffee drink nationwide, and some customers in Georgia can receive the drink via drone.</p><p>The beverage hit stores in the US for the first time on Monday, and it packs 69mg of caffeine per 12-ounce can.</p><div type="image" title="Coca-Cola drone" height="2400" width="3199" msid="80467153" hostid="261"></div><p>The drink combines Coca-Cola with Brazilian coffee, and is available in three flavors: <u></u>Dark Blend, Vanilla, and Caramel. The zero-sugar version is available in Dark Blend and Vanilla. <u></u><u></u></p><p>The drink retails at about $2.32 for a single 12-ounce can, but customers can get a free can using the Ibotta app at Walmart stores across the country.</p><p>To celebrate the launch, Coca-Cola is working with Walmart and DroneUp to deliver cans via drones to residents of Coffee County, Georgia. The drinks will be delivered from Tuesday, but Coca-Cola has already carried out a trial run.<u></u></p><div type="image" title="Coca-Cola drone" height="1080" width="1920" msid="80467155" hostid="261"></div><p>Though Coca-Cola with Coffee has already launched overseas, this is the first time it's hitting stores in the US, and the first time ever that the zero-sugar version has been on sale.</p><p>Coca-Cola will also launch US sales of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-announces-topo-chico-hard-seltzer-2020-7">lemon and lime hard seltzer</a> in the first half of 2021 with sparkling water brand Topo Chico, after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-cancel-drinks-brands-half-portfolio-earnings-financial-results-2020-10">debuting the drink in Latin America</a> last year.</p><p>While it's debuting new products, it's cutting back on others: The company announced plans in October to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-cancel-drinks-brands-half-portfolio-earnings-financial-results-2020-10">scrap about 200 of its drinks brands</a>, roughly half its portfolio.</p><p>Coca-Cola had already said it would scrap <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-is-killing-tab-diet-soda-cult-following-2020-10">Tab</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-coke-is-getting-rid-of-zico-coconut-water-brand-2020-10">Zico</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-discontinues-odwalla-juice-brand-layoffs-selling-trucking-fleet-2020-7">Odwalla</a>. CEO James Quincey told investors in October it would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-cancel-drinks-brands-half-portfolio-earnings-financial-results-2020-10">likely remove more brands from its "hydration" category</a>, which includes brands like Dasani, Powerade, and Smart Water.</p><p>In December, Coca-Cola also announced plans to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-job-cuts-us-atlanta-pandemic-revenues-restructuring-2020-12">lay off 2,200 workers globally</a>, with more than half of the job losses in the US.</p>

Coca-Cola with Coffee is being rolled out nationwide. If you live in Coffee County, Georgia, you can even get it delivered by drone.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword> has partnered up with three different drone technology companies to start experimenting with the <keyword id="6355447" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="delivery">delivery</keyword> technology.</li><li>Business Insider interviewed Tom Ward, Walmart's senior vice president of customer product, about Walmart's drone trials.</li><li>"Like anything at Walmart, once we're excited about something because our customers enjoy it, we'll move as fast as possible to get that technology in lots of people's hands," Ward said.</li></ul><p>Walmart is taking its deliveries to the sky by partnering with three drone companies: DroneUp, Flytrex, and Zipline.</p><p>For Tom Ward, the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> giant's senior vice president of customer product, Walmart's drone experimentation will allow the company to tinker with "continuing to increase [delivery] speed and convenience in a very new and innovative way."</p><p><keyword id="94769" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="drones">Drones</keyword> are just the latest example of Walmart doubling down on its fulfillment potential. With 4,700 brick-and-mortar locations situated within 10 minutes of 90% of the US <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-delivery-hubs-walmart-delivery-fulfillment-2020-9">population</a>, Walmart has increasingly begun using its stores as "distribution nodes for e-commerce sales," Ward told Business Insider. </p><p>"Customers continue to want to interact with Walmart differently and we're trying to absolutely service them in new and different ways, whether that's around speed or convenience," Ward said.</p><p>That means fulfilling orders via in-store pickup, curbside pickup, traditional delivery, express delivery, and now drone delivery.</p><p>"As it relates to Walmart, we want to primarily learn how the customers interact with this technology," Ward said. "What do they do with it? Which bits do they like? What versions of delivery mechanisms do they prefer? Is it convenient? Is it easy? Is it exciting? What do they buy? What would you have delivered through a drone?"</p><p>As part of Walmart's trial-and-error approach to its drone delivery experiment, the company will be focusing on different deliveries and services in each partnership. Each startup brings something different to the table in terms of regional capabilities, handoff and dispensing technologies, weight capacity, and delivery mechanism, according to the retailer.</p><p>Walmart partnered with Quest Diagnostics and drone technology startup DroneUp to make contactless deliveries of COVID-19 self-collection kits to customers in North Las Vegas. Another trial will also take place in Cheektowaga, New York starting in early October.</p><p>Flytrex will be flying grocery and household products to households in Fayetteville, North Carolina.</p><p>And Zipline's Arkansas-based trial will center on the startup deploying parcels of health and wellness items using biodegradable parachute technology. That trial won't begin until the early part of 2021.</p><p>According to Ward, Walmart's work in the drone space can be likened to its approach in terms of all last-mile delivery. Customers will be forming a relationship primarily with Walmart, but the retailer will rely on different service providers in different contexts. He said that Walmart intentionally teamed up with startups offering "three very distinctive technologies" in order to achieve a "breadth of experimentation." </p><p>Walmart's latest team-ups come amidst a spate of drone and fulfillment-related news. In August, online retail giant and Walmart rival <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drones-faa-ruling-2020-8">commercially</a> operate drones. Regional grocery chain <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rouses-markets-tests-unmanned-drone-grocery-delivery-with-deuce-drone-2020-7">Rouses Markets</a> also teamed up with last-mile delivery drone startup Deuce Drone for test flights in Alabama. Meanwhile, the FAA has issued commercial air carrier certificates to Alphabet's Wing Aviation and <keyword id="47560" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="ups">UPS</keyword>' Flight Forward.</p><p>Walmart itself has also recently announced its intent to bolster its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-holidays-hiring-spree-early-deals-online-demand-2020-9">e-commerce fulfillment capabilities</a> by hiring 20,000 seasonal workers for the holiday season. Walmart has hired 500,000 new employees since March, spurred on by the surge in online shopping that occurred as the coronavirus pandemic worsened.</p><p>Ward said that Walmart does not expect drones to dominate the delivery space anytime soon, just as innovations like curbside pickup and delivery haven't completely eclipsed traditional shopping.</p><p>"People don't make binary decisions by channel," he said.</p><p>As for whether consumers should expect to see Walmart drones dotting the skies anytime soon, Ward said that much remains to be seen. </p><p>"Like anything at Walmart, once we're excited about something because our customers enjoy it, we'll move as fast as possible to get that technology in lots of people's hands," Ward said.</p>

Early Walmart drone program pilots will deliver groceries and COVID-19 tests to customers. Here's everything you need to know about the retailer's delivery trials.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword> is expanding its pilot with autonomous vehicle company <keyword id="9432835" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gatik">Gatik</keyword>.</li><li>Beginning in 2021, Gatik's "autonomous box trucks" will begin fulfilling customer orders without safety drivers, driving products between a dark store and a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Arkansas.</li><li>"We'll be working with Gatik to monitor and gather new data to help us stay on the leading edge of driverless autonomous vehicles," Tom Ward, Walmart's senior vice president of customer product, said.</li></ul><p>A Walmart Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Arkansas, will soon start receiving shipments delivered via a driverless box truck, as part of the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> giant's expanded pilot with autonomous vehicle startup Gatik.</p><p>According to Walmart, the Gatik pilot has logged 70,000 operational miles "in autonomous mode" with a safety driver behind the wheel to monitor deliveries since its launch in 2019<strong>.</strong> Walmart's expansion of initial tests will see Gatik's "multi-temperature Autonomous Box Trucks" operate that same two-mile route without a driver starting next year.</p><p>"This achievement marks a new milestone that signifies the first ever driverless operation carried out on the supply chain middle mile for both Gatik and Walmart," Tom Ward, Walmart senior vice president of customer product, said in a statement.</p><p>The original pilot in Bentonville, Arkansas, also the retail giant's headquarters, involved Gatik's vehicles moving orders between the aforementioned Walmart Neighborhood Market location and a "dark store" two miles away. Walmart dark stores contain merchandise, but are not open to the public.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">"We'll be working with Gatik to monitor and gather new data to help us stay on the leading edge of driverless autonomous vehicles," Ward said. </p><p style="font-weight: 400;">Walmart also announced that its initial pilot with Gatik, featuring a safety driver, will now expand to Louisiana, allowing both companies to test out "an even longer delivery route." The retailer will have a Gatik vehicle carry customer orders from a Walmart Supercenter in New Orleans to a customer pickup location in Metairie, Louisiana, 2o miles away. </p><p style="font-weight: 400;">As Walmart looks to compete in retail's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-invests-in-drones-as-amazon-delivery-war-heats-up-2019-6">delivery wars</a> against rivals like Amazon, autonomous vehicles will ultimately play an important role in its ongoing strategy of improving delivery times to customers. So too will drones, as the company has already agreed to iniital pilots with a trio of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-drone-delivery-partnerships-tom-ward-2020-9">drone companies</a>, including DroneUp and Flytrex.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">Ward previously said that the company's Express Delivery service, which offers two-hour delivery on a slew of products, has reached 2,800 stores and 65% of households in the US since its April launch.</p>

Walmart looks to expand its futuristic delivery capabilities with a new driverless truck trial in its home state of Arkansas

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword> is trialling COVID-19 test kit deliveries by <keyword id="6354474" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drone">drone</keyword> in <keyword id="126889" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="El-Paso">El Paso</keyword>, <keyword id="15710" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="texas">Texas</keyword>.</li><li>El Paso currently has one of the worst <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> outbreaks in the US.</li><li>The city has been on lockdown since the end of October, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-el-paso-hospital-nurse-lawanna-rivers-video-2020-11">hospitals over capacity</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/el-paso-doubles-mobile-morgue-capacity-new-coronavirus-surge-2020-11">morgues running out of room</a>. </li><li>The program launched Tuesday, and is available for people who live in single-family homes within a mile and a half of a participating Walmart store in East El Paso.</li></ul><p>As El Paso, Texas, struggles to fight one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the US, a Walmart in the city is testing a program to deliver free testing kits by drone. </p><p>The program — a partnership between Walmart, the Quest Diagnostics lab, and DroneUp — launched Tuesday. Currently, anyone who qualifies for a test and lives in a single-family home within a mile and a half of a participating Walmart store in East El Paso can have one delivered for free by drone, according to <a href="https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/drone-pilot-program-supplies-coronavirus-testing-kits-to-eastside-families" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KFOX 14</a>.</p><p>According to the outlet, the testing kit includes a self-administered nasal swab, and after collecting a sample, people can simply post the sample in a prepaid envelope and await the results online. </p><div type="image" title="walmart drone" height="1322" width="2000" msid="79283961" hostid="261"></div><p>El Paso has been under a stay-at-home order since October 29, when area hospitals started running out of room due to an influx of COVID-19 patients. El Paso county has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/el-paso-mayor-dee-margo-discusses-surge-in-covid-19-2020-11">emerged as a hot spot</a> of the coronavirus as the US battles its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-third-coronavirus-surge-is-tsunami-comparison-spring-summer-2020-11">third spike of the pandemic</a>.</p><p>Patients have also been dying at a rate that medical examiners have been struggling to keep up with.</p><p>The county <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/el-paso-doubles-mobile-morgue-capacity-new-coronavirus-surge-2020-11">recently doubled its capacity of mobile morgue units</a> — which are essentially refrigerated trucks — and inmates are being paid <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-paso-covid-body-transport-county-inmates-2-dollars-per-hour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$2 an hour </a>to help move the bodies. </p><p>In a video posted last week, a travel nurse at the University Medical Center of El Paso also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-el-paso-hospital-nurse-lawanna-rivers-video-2020-11">said the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients were put in a "pit"</a> that doctors didn't enter for fear of exposing themselves to the virus.</p><p>The stay-at-home order was due to expire last week, but was extended because the hospitals are still over-burdened. The order <a href="https://www.ktsm.com/local/watch-at-4-p-m-el-paso-county-judge-samaniego-to-hold-update-on-stay-home-order-on-wednesday/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will remain in place until December 1</a>.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nn9gX5T36P8" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Mayor Dee Margo of El Paso was at the Walmart in East El Paso on Tuesday as the program launched. </p><p>"To be the third community in the country to have this is phenomenal. It's a reflection on who we are and our region in the state of Texas and in the nation," Margo said, according to KFOX.</p><p>Margo <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/el-paso-mayor-dee-margo-discusses-surge-in-covid-19-2020-11">previously told Business Insider</a> he was struggling to "walk that tightwire" between public health and keeping the local economy alive.</p><p>It's unclear whether the drone program will be opened up to a wider area of the city, which as of Tuesday was reporting more than 34,000 active cases and 782 deaths, according to <a href="http://epstrong.org/results.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government data</a>.</p><p>Dan Haemmerle, general manager of extended care for Quest Diagnostics, said in a statement to <a href="https://kfoxtv.com/news/coronavirus/covid-19-at-home-self-collection-kits-to-be-delivered-by-drone-in-east-el-paso" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KFOX 14</a> that the pilot program will "examine how drones [can] deliver health care to patients who are unable to leave their home, or live in remote locations."</p>

An El Paso Walmart is using drones to deliver COVID-19 test kits as the city struggles with overflowing hospitals and people dying faster than the medical examiner can handle

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/568eeaa6e6183eee168b7a43-889-667/antoine-with-lily.jpg" alt="Lily Drone CEO Antoine with Lily" data-mce-source="Lily"><p class="source"><span>Lily</span></p><p class="caption">Lily CEO and co-founder Antoine Balaresque standing next to a hovering Lily drone.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>If you're like me, drone photography and videos&#xa0;are fun to look at online&#xa0;but seemingly daunting hobbies to get into if you're a first-timer. Where do you start? How do you build or buy a drone that's ready to take video? And, more importantly, how hard it is to fly one of those things?<p>These are all problems that UC Berkley students&#xa0;<span>Antoine Balaresque and&#xa0;<span>Henry Bradlow set out to eliminate back in 2013 when they began creating what would become Lily, a drone that automatically follows you around after you toss it into the air.</span></span></p><p><span><span>The genius of Lily lies in how dead-simple it is to use. After you toss the drone&#xa0;up into the air, you're free to concentrate on whatever you'd like Lily to record video of you doing, thanks the small circular tracker that you can stow away in your pocket or wear on your wrist. Lily stays in constant communication with that tracker, which, along with some clever machine learning technology, allows the drone to always keep you in the shot even as you move around.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Lily can follow you from behind, zoom ahead of you and capture video while looking backwards at you, film from your side, or even circle your position if you're looking to capture the entire environment around you.</span></span></p><p><span><span>After you're done capturing video or snapping a few stills, you can just tap on the tracker to recall Lily to your position, where it will slowly descend into your hand, cutting its propellers upon contact. And because Lily is waterproof, you can even have it take off and land from the water if you'd like.</span></span></p><p><span><span><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4vGcH0Bk3hg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></span></span></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span><span>After its initial announcement, Lily's sheer simplicity seemed to resonate with drone enthusiasts and novices alike, and the company announced on Thursday&#xa0;that 60,000 people have pre-ordered the drone, leading to $34 million in sales.</span></span></p><p><span><span>The&#xa0;sales were placed directly through Lily's website instead of through a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign,&#xa0;as the company decided to keep the lights on for the foreseeable future with $15 million in venture capital funding. After a $1 million seed round, Lily raised $14 million with a Serias A round led by Spark Capital,&#xa0;<span>SV Angel, Stanford-StartX Fund, and other big names including&#xa0;Steve Aoki and Joe Montana.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>When I visited Lily CEO&#xa0;<span>Antoine Balaresque and CTO&#xa0;</span><span>Henry Bradlow at this year's Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, I got the chance to take a closer look at the drone, which I found to be small enough enough to be easily stowed away in a backpack. Its industrial design looks polished, and it also features two friendly crescent moons for eyes, which Balaresque explained were partially inspired by the robot EVE in the Pixar film "WALL-E."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>I can easily see Lily appealing to pretty much anyone thanks to its autonomous capabilities and ability to be operated and controlled without a smartphone app (though there is an app if you'd prefer to control the drone that way or would like to preview record footage while still in the field).</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Lily is scheduled to launch in "summer of 2016," according to its founders, and with $34 million in sales already, it appears to be off to a promising start.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>You can <a href="https://www.lily.camera/">pre-order Lily for $799 today</a>, or pick one up for $999 when it officially launches.</span></span></span></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/katie-couric-on-working-with-marissa-mayer-at-yahoo-2015-12">Katie Couric reveals what it's like to work with Marissa Mayer at Yahoo</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9nMnNseTrf_PNZO-vfOC_MsqAoKcZEvB" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '9nMnNseTrf_PNZO-vfOC_MsqAoKcZEvB',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "droneup" and got 8 results

Walmart is making moves into drones — here's how they plan to do it

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