Uber Eats’ drone delivery service could see Big Macs hit speeds of 70 mph

By Trevor Mogg Published June 13, 2019

Uber is following in the footsteps of Amazon, Google, and others, with the development of its own delivery drone.

The flying machine will be used by Uber Eats, a service that lets hungry folks order meals using an app on their smartphone.

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Uber has recently been conducting drone delivery tests from a McDonald’s in San Diego, California. It’s currently using an Air Robot AR200 octocopter with a custom-built box for holding the food, but later this year it plans to unveil its own delivery drone that could see a Big Mac and fries reach speeds of up to 70 mph.

The company told Bloomberg it wants to have a commercial service up and running by this summer. This may be a little ambitious, however, as it’s yet to receive the necessary permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In a bid to reassure the FAA about the safety of its proposed system, Uber said its meal-carrying drone wouldn’t fly directly to people’s homes because obstacles in and around yards could present serious challenges as it searched for a spot to land. In other words, one wrong move and it could be curtains for the combo meal, as well as the drone. More importantly, the safety of anyone nearby cannot be guaranteed in the event of a crash.

Instead, the drone would fly to a predetermined safe-landing zone where a waiting Uber courier would grab the meal and complete the delivery.

Time saver

Uber said that its drone service has the potential to reduce delivery time significantly compared to conventional methods. For example, current deliveries in urban areas take an average of 21 minutes across a distance of 1.5 miles, whereas a drone could do it in just 7 minutes, the company said. Even better, delivery charges for its drone service would not be any different to its regular rates.

Uber hopes the launch of a such a service will help set it apart from its meal-delivery competitors, among them DoorDash, GrubHub, and Postmates. The challenges presented by the highly competitive market were brought into sharp focus recently when Amazon Restaurants announced it will be ending its service later this month.

Uber executive Eric Allison told Bloomberg: “Our customers want selection, quality, and efficiency — all areas that improve with drone delivery.”

But the safe operation of autonomous drones is still a huge issue, especially when flying over people and buildings in urban areas. And then there’s the issue of noise pollution, too.

Amazon and Wing

Amazon unveiled its latest Prime Air drone earlier this month, which it hopes to use for delivering goods to the homes of its online shoppers. The FAA recently granted the company a one-year “special airworthiness certificate” allowing it to test the drone under certain conditions.

Wing, owned by Google parent Alphabet, is making notable progress with its drone delivery program with the recent launch of a service in a part of Canberra, Australia, and trials in Helsinki, Finland.

In April 2018, Wing revealed it had become the first company in the U.S. to receive Air Carrier Certification from the FAA, taking it a step closer to commercial drone deliveries in the U.S.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Cars

Kia EV9 and EV6 now fully qualify for the $7,500 tax credit – except for one trim

Kia EV 9

As Kia reported record first-quarter sales, Eric Watson, Kia America VP of sales, made a point of painting a rosy picture for the future: Now that the latest versions of its two best-selling electric vehicles, the EV9 and the EV6, are in full-scale production at Kia’s plant in Georgia, the road is paved for further sales growth.
After all, when Kia announced it was switching production of the EV9 to the U.S. from South Korea in 2023, it largely based its decision on its EVs being eligible for the $7,500 tax credit on new EV purchases offered under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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As for the EV6, 2025 marks the first time its production takes place stateside, and most of its trims have also become eligible for the full tax credit.
However, there are notable exceptions: Both the EV6 and EV9 GT trims, which are known for providing more horsepower - ie, being faster – and offering a “more aggressive styling and accents”, won’t qualify at all for the tax credit: That’s because production for those vehicles remains based in South Korea, according to CarsDirect, which cited a Kia bulletin to its dealers.
The full credit should still be available for those who lease the vehicles, as leasing does not have the same sourcing requirements under the IRA.
Another big unknown for the GT trims is whether the U.S.’ 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles will again be applied. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump paused most tariffs announced in early April for 90 days.
While prices for the new EV6 and EV9 have yet to be revealed, the combination of the tariffs and the inegibility for the tax credit could seriously dent the appeal of the GT trims.

Cars

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subaru trailseeker ev debut 2026 4 thumb

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Emerging Tech

I tested the world-understanding avatar of Gemini Live. It was shocking

Scanning a sticker using Gemini Live with camera and screen sharing.

It’s somewhat unnerving to hear an AI talking in an eerily friendly tone and telling me to clean up the clutter on my workstation. I am somewhat proud of it, but I guess it’s time to stack the haphazardly scattered gadgets and tidy up the wire mess.

My sister would agree, too. But jumping into action after an AI “sees” my table, recognizes the mess, and doles out homemaker advice is the bigger picture. Google’s Gemini AI chatbot can now do that. And a lot more.