A new joint venture between Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robots and Alphabet’s Wing flying drone service will do a dual test run in Dallas to combine sidewalk robots and flying drones for deliveries, aiming to cover areas traditional services can’t reach and speed up delivery times. The combination of road-based Serve bots picking up orders from restaurants and the Wing drones, capable of carrying five pounds at speeds up to 65 mph, completing the delivery, will be tested on select customer orders in the coming months. The challenge of drone delivery lies in coverage limitations for flying drones and navigation difficulties in dense or rocky terrains for sidewalk drones, but this innovative partnership hopes to overcome these obstacles. Serve Robotics currently delivers for 300 restaurants in Los Angeles, while Wing collaborates with Walmart in Dallas and has previously worked with DoorDash and Wendy’s in Virginia. Details about the specific test locations, participating merchants, and future plans for the new drone delivery fleet remain undisclosed.
