DoorDash plans to test drone deliveries in San Francisco warehouse

Meals supply app DoorDash is setting its sights on a brand new vacation spot to check out flying drone deliveries: San Francisco.

The tech firm leased a warehouse within the Mission District final month that may function a analysis and improvement area to advance its autonomous supply expertise, a June letter despatched to San Francisco Zoning Administrator Corey Teague exhibits.

“This venture displays a broader dedication to reinvesting in San Francisco’s innovation economic system and creating pathways for native employment in rising applied sciences,” the letter stated.

The 34,325-square-foot constructing at 1960 Folsom St. is roughly two miles away from DoorDash’s headquarters. About 200 persons are anticipated to be employed on the web site.

DoorDash confirmed on Wednesday that the corporate will use the ability to check autonomous supply expertise and help analysis and improvement for its robotics and automation arm. The corporate didn’t instantly reply questions on whether or not California residents will quickly be capable of get meals supply through a drone.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported on DoorDash’s drone supply plans.

A lot of the testing would occur contained in the warehouse however a few of it’s going to additionally happen outdoor throughout regular enterprise hours in a gated space. The property features a large outside space with floor parking, the letter stated.

DoorDash has been piloting drone deliveries in different states together with Texas, Virginia and North Carolina in addition to Australia. DoorDash has partnered with aviation corporations Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s guardian firm Alphabet, and Flytrex, an Israeli drone supply firm.

Drone supply corporations have additionally teamed up with different companies, together with Amazon and Walmart.

The enlargement of drone supply highlights how automation and robotics, powered by synthetic intelligence, may reshape the way forward for work. Firms have been experimenting with drone supply as a option to get meals to prospects’ doorsteps inside minutes.

DoorDash and Flytrex launched drone supply in Dallas-Fort Value, Texas, in June. The drones delivered from eating places corresponding to Papa Johns and The Brass Faucet and will carry as much as 6.6 kilos, based on a news release in regards to the partnership.

Within the letter despatched to Teague, a San Francisco legal professional writes she’s reaching out on behalf of a “main expertise firm targeted on last-mile supply options” to verify their consumer is permitted to make use of the positioning as “analysis and improvement (R&D) area for autonomous supply applied sciences.”

Though the legal professional doesn’t identify DoorDash within the letter, the building’s lease has been linked to the corporate.

“The check flights outdoor are anticipated to be as much as roughly 150 ft above floor. Not more than two drones could be operated on the identical time, and no particular person flight would exceed half-hour in period,” the letter stated.

DoorDash has additionally been increasing different varieties of supply, together with a partnership with Coco Robotics during which boxy robots with wheels ship meals all through Los Angeles and Chicago.

Whereas San Francisco is a number one hub for expertise and innovation, metropolis officers have additionally encountered security considerations from residents involved about operating into robots as they take up area on sidewalks. In 2017, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to limit supply robots.

In the meantime, the U.S. Division of Transportation in August proposed a brand new rule that may make it simpler for corporations to fly drones over longer distances. A DoorDash spokesperson stated the corporate is inspired by the steps taken “in the direction of making drone supply a scalable, secure, and dependable possibility for extra communities throughout the nation.”

As of December 2024, roughly 42 million folks used DoorDash month-to-month, based on the company’s full-year financial results.