What is your preferred option of delivery? Pick up? By car? By scooter? Well Australians look as if they will soon be able to add the option of drone to that list.

These particular delivery drones are planned to be used by students ordering text books. The company that is trying to bring them in does text book rentals, so students at The University of Sydney will be able to order books from their smart phone through an app and have one of the Flirtey drones deliver their order right to wherever they are. The best part?  Students can track their orders in real-time through Google maps.

All going well with the text book launch, Flirtey wants to expand into anything deliverable, including food deliveries and even blood from blood banks to hospitals!

The only thing stopping these deliveries at the moment is regulations, but pending approval these drones will be flying by March next year. As long as all goes well Australia will be the first country in the world that uses fully automated commercial drones to deliver goods.

 

So how do we know these things are safe?

 There have been a few cases of drones crashing and being a hazard around the world, but these Flirtey drones are different to other drones out there as they aren’t remote control operated – reducing the risk of human error possible. They use collision avoidance technology to keep them safe from birds and buildings, and plan to fly high enough to avoid people, but no higher than 122 metres.

 

And how are they powered?

 The drones are powered through rechargeable lithium polymer batters, meaning there is next to no pollution. These batteries power them for a range of about 3 kilometres, all while carrying up to about 2 kilograms of weight.

What do you think about these drones?

Would you utilize this service if it was to come to New Zealand?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!