Takeaway food delivered by drones from the sky just minutes after being ordered. This isn’t science fiction – it’s an everyday occurrence in parts of Dublin, and it could be coming to the UK this winter.
For nearly two years, start-up company Manna has been offering drone deliveries in Ireland for €1.99 (£1.72) to the customer (though the supplier incurs some additional costs too).
For Kim, who is desperate for some caffeine after just putting her baby down for a nap, it’s a lifesaver.
“I’m a first-time mum, and I completely underestimated what that would mean,” she told me.
“I find getting out of the house to get milk so difficult. I just want a cup of tea.”
She places the order on her phone, much like a takeaway from an app like Deliveroo or Just Eat.
A few miles away, the milk and ice lollies she ordered are packed into a drone – an autonomous quadcopter capable of carrying up to two kilograms of cargo. Minutes later, the groceries are airborne.
“Each remote pilot could manage up to 50 drones,” Manna’s CEO told me. We are in their office, standing behind three ‘pilots’ seated in front of computer monitors.
“So they’re not flying the drones themselves?” I ask.
“No, they’re fully autonomous. The aircraft takes off on its own, flies on its own, and delivers on its own. These pilots mainly approve a few safety checks.”
The drones fly at 65 metres above the ground. Once Kim’s order is hovering over her backyard, the drone descends to 14 metres.
A bird’s-eye view camera is activated, and the ‘pilot’ must press a button to confirm that there is nobody below.
The order is then lowered in a bag attached to a string, landing softly enough to prevent damage to items such as coffee and eggs.
The string is automatically cut, and within a few more seconds, the drone returns to the distribution centre.
“I think there is a novelty aspect to it,” says the owner of Kahuna Pops, whose ice lollies were delivered.
“But that novelty can become a habit because if you order a coffee, it will be hot when you get it, because it took 90 seconds, not 15 minutes in a car. It’s the future, and it’s arriving now, so you’d better get used to it.”
Not everyone has welcomed their arrival. Some areas of Dublin have refused to allow drone deliveries nearby.
Seamus and Michael set up a campaign group called Drone Action D15.
“We have to be very careful with wildlife and people’s well-being because of the noise of drones,” Seamus said while showing me their campaign leaflets.
With plans to introduce something similar in the UK, I asked Michael what advice he would give to concerned residents.
“Be very cautious about allowing commercial operations like this in your area,” he said.
“If you value the peace and quiet of your home, garden, and streets, don’t let these drones come in because once they’re in, it’s very hard to get them out.”
Manna says the drones only create 58db of noise, similar to a normal conversation.
They say privacy and safety are also taken extremely seriously. Drone deliveries have been piloted in the UK, mainly for medical supplies like blood and drugs.
The most recent initiative, by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, successfully delivered defibrillators.
For Steve, who had his life saved twice within three months when different family members resuscitated him, this technology could be a game-changer.
“There are areas where there’s no access to a defibrillator, so if a drone can get one there faster, then bring it on. Every second counts.”
Amazon aims to conduct 500 million drone deliveries worldwide by 2029.
It has already started in the US and chose Darlington as the first UK location, but is awaiting planning permission and regulatory approval.
In the UK, we still rely on human pilots who physically see hazards – so-called ‘line of sight’ flying.
The company Altitude Angel has been trialling ground-based sensors and cameras to create an alternative to air traffic control for drones, which would eliminate the need for line-of-sight operation.
“Predominantly, air traffic control happens with radio communication,” explained Altitude Angel’s founder, Richard Parker.
“That doesn’t scale very well. If we have 1,000 drones in a particular area, it’s impossible to communicate with them all via radio. You’d need one human per drone, which isn’t feasible. So, we need digital systems to manage and make decisions much faster and to handle many more aircraft.”
The Civil Aviation Authority here has said it is working hard to safely open up the skies.
New regulations could be rolled out as early as this winter.
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