Air-Dropping Packages

Zipline, the global leader in instant logistics and delivery, unveiled its new platform for autonomous drone deliveries to homes in cities and suburbs. The next generation is said to be virtually silent, producing only a gentle rustle of leaves in the wind. Deliveries are made up to 7 times faster than traditional deliveries by motor vehicle, allowing deliveries 16 kilometers away to be completed in about 10 minutes.

Zipline has been working hard over the past few years to develop and optimize its next technology called Platform 2 (P2) to provide an optimal customer experience at scale. Unlike other drone delivery services, Zipline drones, also known as Zips, fly almost silently at an altitude of nearly 100 meters. After reaching its destination, the Zip hovers safely and quietly at that altitude while its fully autonomous delivery droid is lowered on a rope to gently deposit the package at a pre-determined location, such as a patio table or the front steps of a home.

Numerous companies in the healthcare and restaurant sectors have already pledged their support for Zipline's new home delivery service. Sweetgreen is partnering with Zipline to further its mission of providing healthy food to people across the U.S. while pursuing its goal of being carbon neutral by 2027. Thanks to the Zipline marketplace, Sweetgreen customers can receive their orders using 97% less energy than traditional automotive delivery methods.

"The future of delivery is faster, more sustainable and creates broader access, all of which provides improved value for our customers," said Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen. "We couldn't be more excited to partner with Zipline to complement our delivery strategy. Zipline's sustainable technology and ability to reach customers quickly, with a great delivery experience, will help us give our customers what they want, when they want it."

Michigan Medicine will use Zipline's new service to more than double the number of prescribed medications dispensed through its in-house pharmacy each year. Intermountain Health will use the service to deliver prescriptions to patients in the Salt Lake City metro area. MultiCare Health System plans to use the new platform to expedite diagnoses and deliver prescriptions and medical equipment throughout its network of facilities, including hospitals, laboratories and physician offices.

In addition, the Government of Rwanda, as Zipline's first customer, will use the company's new Home Delivery service to provide urban deliveries to homes, hotels and healthcare facilities in Kigali and other parts of the country.

Zipline's end-to-end solution integrates seamlessly with a company's current business operations. This includes software that works seamlessly with third-party inventory management and ordering systems, an intuitive app that allows deliveries to be ordered down to the second, and a software platform that has already guided the flight paths of over 60 million miles.

Zipline designed its docking and loading hardware to have a small footprint and can be attached to any building or set up as a freestanding structure. A Zip can be easily loaded by a business employee, who can dispatch orders directly from their location in seconds without even leaving the kitchen, pharmacy or doctor's office.

Businesses can offer Zipline's home delivery service in a variety of ways, including native integrations into apps and websites, white-label opportunities, and by joining the Zipline marketplace. Customers can place on-demand orders or schedule the exact time they want their package to arrive, down to the second.

Each P2-Zip has a 16-kilometer service radius and carries a load of up to 4kg for round-trip deliveries from a single docking station. Alternatively, it can fly up to 38 kilometers one-way from dock to dock, recharging at each station before picking up its next delivery. Because Zips can move from dock to dock, Zipline can dynamically respond to peak order times and ensure there is enough delivery capacity for urgent medication delivery, a Friday pizza night or the weekly lunch rush.

Zipline holds Part 135 Standard Air Carrier Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate a drone carrier in America. (Website) and plans to conduct flight tests this year that will include more than 10,000 test flights with approximately 100 aircraft. P2's first customer deployment will follow shortly thereafter. The predecessor P1 platform has flown autonomously more than 60 million kilometers, through all types of weather conditions without incident. Zipline completed more deliveries in 2022 than in all previous years combined and plans to complete about 1 million deliveries by the end of 2023. By 2025, Zipline expects to operate more flights annually than most airlines.