Drone food delivery arrives in New Jersey

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Darrel Und

PR Newswire reported that Grubhub and Dexa introduced New Jersey’s first drone-powered food delivery program. Starting on March 18, eligible customers of a restaurant called Wonder can order food from one of its locations using drone delivery. There will be no additional costs beyond the food and standard ground-based delivery fees.

“Through Wonder’s innovative multi-restaurant model, diners are able to choose from 15 concepts for drone delivery, all prepared to order within a single location. The blend of culinary variety, quality, and operational efficiency creates a seamless experience that pairs naturally with the speed and precision of drone delivery,” according to the report.

Delivery will be via Dexa’s DE-2020 drone delivery aircraft. Dexa’s drone is one of four delivery drones certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial operation. Reuters also reported on this program.

I had never heard of Wonder because so far it’s operating only on the East Coast. Wonder uses a multi-restaurant model of food preparation for dine-in and takeout, in which menus from multiple restaurants are available in one location. That way, each person in the group can have precisely what she or he feels like eating. Wonder has a membership program, in return for which members get their food delivered without delivery fees. 

So, what could go wrong? The New York Times’ Modern Love column recently had a humorous story about a woman in Lagos, Nigeria whose technology-focused boyfriend try to woo her by having a meal delivered by a drone.* She wrote that “the drone misread the GPS, crashed into the neighbor’s laundry line and scattered spicy beef across their freshly washed bedsheets. The ensuing shouting match involved three households and one irate landlord waving a broom like a machete.”

What else might be problematic? I couldn’t find specific information about noise levels from the DE-2020 drone, so I have no idea how loud the drone is.

In medicine, one learns the hard way that the problems associated with a new drug or procedure often become apparent only over time and when the treatment is widely used. I remain a skeptic about drone delivery, but I could be wrong. Only time will tell.

*The Times column may be behind the a paywall.