Pizza-delivery drones could be on their way to France
Forget traipsing to the bistro for your steak tartare - soon, you could get a pizza flying directly to your house, thanks to a plan by Domino's to bring delivery drones to France.
It's excellent news for picky eaters and all those who are just fed up of dealing with the typical grumpy Parisian waiter.
The first successful demonstration of the delivery took place in Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday, and the drones will be launched there first, but the American pizza company has set its sights on France next, if the tests go to plan.
The news will be welcomed by many French people; despite their reputation as culinary snobs, they scoff more pizza than any other nationality.
Domino's New Zealand drones - which will be the first ever commercial drone delivery service in the world, despite tech giants Google and Amazon investing massive resources into drones - will launch fully later this year.
The drones, created by startup Flirtey, carry your pizza in "state-of-the-art packaging that retained the temperature and taste" of the meal, and once it arrives, you'd be alerted by a smartphone notification.
They will be used alongside the company's other delivery methods, wherever they would be faster than a scooter or bike delivery.
"We've always said that it doesn't make sense to have a two-tonne machine delivering a two-kilo object," said Domino's CEO Don Meij.
France is one of six countries where Domino's hopes to bring its pizza drones if the initial trial in New Zealand is successful. The others are Germany, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan. The project has been in the works since 2013.
However, before pizzas take to the sky here in France, Domino's will first face administrative battles. Delivery by drone is not currently allowed in well-populated areas of France; drones are subject to heavy regulation and are generally only allowed in rural spaces. One tourist even ended up behind bars for a drone flight around Notre Dame cathedral.
Meanwhile, across the border in Switzerland, the national post office began testing delivery drones last week, but they said it would take around five years before customers would get their parcels from a drone.
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It's excellent news for picky eaters and all those who are just fed up of dealing with the typical grumpy Parisian waiter.
The first successful demonstration of the delivery took place in Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday, and the drones will be launched there first, but the American pizza company has set its sights on France next, if the tests go to plan.
The news will be welcomed by many French people; despite their reputation as culinary snobs, they scoff more pizza than any other nationality.
Domino's New Zealand drones - which will be the first ever commercial drone delivery service in the world, despite tech giants Google and Amazon investing massive resources into drones - will launch fully later this year.
The drones, created by startup Flirtey, carry your pizza in "state-of-the-art packaging that retained the temperature and taste" of the meal, and once it arrives, you'd be alerted by a smartphone notification.
They will be used alongside the company's other delivery methods, wherever they would be faster than a scooter or bike delivery.
"We've always said that it doesn't make sense to have a two-tonne machine delivering a two-kilo object," said Domino's CEO Don Meij.
France is one of six countries where Domino's hopes to bring its pizza drones if the initial trial in New Zealand is successful. The others are Germany, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan. The project has been in the works since 2013.
However, before pizzas take to the sky here in France, Domino's will first face administrative battles. Delivery by drone is not currently allowed in well-populated areas of France; drones are subject to heavy regulation and are generally only allowed in rural spaces. One tourist even ended up behind bars for a drone flight around Notre Dame cathedral.
Meanwhile, across the border in Switzerland, the national post office began testing delivery drones last week, but they said it would take around five years before customers would get their parcels from a drone.
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