DoorDash plans to test drone deliveries in San Francisco warehouse

Food transportation app DoorDash is mounting its sights connected a caller destination to trial retired flying drone deliveries: San Francisco.

The tech institution leased a warehouse successful the Mission District past period that volition service arsenic a probe and improvement abstraction to beforehand its autonomous transportation technology, a June missive sent to San Francisco Zoning Administrator Corey Teague shows.

“This task reflects a broader committedness to reinvesting successful San Francisco’s innovation system and creating pathways for section employment successful emerging technologies,” the missive said.

The 34,325-square-foot gathering astatine 1960 Folsom St. is astir 2 miles distant from DoorDash’s headquarters. About 200 radical are expected to beryllium employed astatine the site.

DoorDash confirmed connected Wednesday that the institution volition usage the installation to trial autonomous transportation exertion and enactment probe and improvement for its robotics and automation arm. The institution didn’t instantly reply questions astir whether California residents volition soon beryllium capable to get nutrient transportation via a drone.

The San Francisco Chronicle archetypal reported connected DoorDash’s drone transportation plans.

Most of the investigating would hap wrong the warehouse but immoderate of it volition besides hap outdoors during mean concern hours successful a gated area. The spot includes a large outdoor country with aboveground parking, the missive said.

DoorDash has been piloting drone deliveries successful different states including Texas, Virginia and North Carolina arsenic good arsenic Australia. DoorDash has partnered with aviation companies Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s genitor institution Alphabet, and Flytrex, an Israeli drone transportation company.

Drone transportation companies person besides teamed up with different businesses, including Amazon and Walmart.

The enlargement of drone transportation highlights however automation and robotics, powered by artificial intelligence, could reshape the aboriginal of work. Companies person been experimenting with drone transportation arsenic a mode to get nutrient to customers’ doorsteps wrong minutes.

DoorDash and Flytrex launched drone transportation successful Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, successful June. The drones delivered from restaurants specified arsenic Papa Johns and The Brass Tap and could transportation up to 6.6 pounds, according to a quality merchandise astir the partnership.

In the missive sent to Teague, a San Francisco lawyer writes she’s reaching retired connected behalf of a “leading exertion institution focused connected last-mile transportation solutions” to corroborate their lawsuit is permitted to usage the tract arsenic “research and improvement (R&D) abstraction for autonomous transportation technologies.”

Even though the lawyer doesn’t sanction DoorDash successful the letter, the building’s lease has been linked to the company.

“The trial flights outdoors are anticipated to beryllium up to astir 150 feet supra ground. No much than 2 drones would beryllium operated astatine the aforesaid time, and nary idiosyncratic formation would transcend 30 minutes successful duration,” the missive said.

DoorDash has besides been expanding different types of delivery, including a concern with Coco Robotics successful which boxy robots with wheels present nutrient passim Los Angeles and Chicago.

While San Francisco is simply a starring hub for exertion and innovation, metropolis officials person besides encountered information concerns from residents acrophobic astir moving into robots arsenic they instrumentality up abstraction connected sidewalks. In 2017, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to restrict transportation robots.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation successful August projected a caller regularisation that would marque it easier for companies to alert drones implicit longer distances. A DoorDash spokesperson said the institution is encouraged by the steps taken “towards making drone transportation a scalable, safe, and reliable enactment for much communities crossed the country.”

As of December 2024, astir 42 cardinal radical utilized DoorDash monthly, according to the company’s full-year fiscal results.