Alphabet’s Wing division has teamed up with DoorDash to deliver some convenience and grocery items — such as pantry staples, snacks and household essentials — by drone. Customers can place an order through the “DoorDash Air” section of the DoorDash app and receive their items in as little as 15 minutes.
When they check out, users will need to select a delivery spot for the drone to drop off their package. The DoorDash app will ask them to confirm that the drop zone is clear before the user completes the order.
The pilot is live in Logan, Australia, where Wing has been testing its services for a few years. DoorDash drone deliveries are only available to a small number of households for now, but availability will be expanded in the coming months. The drones can carry a payload of just over a kilogram, DoorDash said.
This is a big step for Wing, as it marks the first time that the company’s services have been accessible through a third-party app. DoorDash employed Wing’s new API to make the integration work. Until now, the Wing Delivery App has been the main way for customers to order and receive items via the company’s drones.
Wing says it has been working on a way to offer third-party app integration for some time. “We see this new functionality as a logical step on this journey to make drone delivery a plug-and-play option for more businesses and consumers — no matter what app they use,” Wing wrote in a blog post.
Wing has been expanding its footprint in recent months. The company announced last month that its drone delivery service was coming to Ireland imminently. It’s also operating in Christiansburg, Virginia and Helsinki, Finland.