The Walmart Supercenter at Beltline Road and US 80 in Mesquite is officially launching a new drone delivery service on Tuesday called Zipline. NBC 5’s Diana Zoga explains how it works and which North Texas city is next on the list.
Some North Texans will see more delivery drones in their neighborhoods. The Walmart Supercenter at Belt Line Road and U.S. Highway 80 in Mesquite is officially launching a new service on Tuesday.
Delivery is handled by San Francisco-based Zipline.
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The autonomous aircraft, or “zips,” take off from charging stations at the Walmart store. During delivery, the aircraft hovers around 300 feet in the air while deploying a smaller droid to the ground. The delivery droid, made of foam and carbon fiber, lowers on a tether with a customer’s order.
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“We have a lot of proprietary technology that’s gone into making the aircraft very quiet and unobtrusive,” said Conner Wilkinson, head of community engagement for Zipline. “What folks have told us is they can’t hear it beyond background noise. The actual aircraft and delivery stays at over 300 feet while the delivery zip comes down.”
Zipline said it began assessing the system with a smaller pool of customers in late March. One of those customers is Natosha Skannal, who lives and works at a townhome community in nearby Sunnyvale.
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“We have a lot of people here that are seniors and don’t have cars. We have people here that are disabled and it’s really hard for them to get to the store,” said Skannal.
Currently, delivery is free to customers. Skannal said she uses the app to order from Walmart nearly every day. The delivery zip lowers purchases onto a green space near the community mailboxes on the property.
“They have a countdown. When it’s two minutes, it will start counting down, letting you know when it’s going to arrive so you don’t miss your package and you can get out there and grab it,” Skannal said.
Each drone is designed to carry up to eight pounds. While adding items to the online shopping cart, Skannal said she can see if she’s approaching the delivery drone’s weight limit. Some of her orders, she said, have been broken up into multiple deliveries.
Customers can download the Zipline app to learn if their address can receive deliveries.
Zipline said it’s expanding its service into other North Texas cities. The company said its next launch is planned for Waxahachie.
