Business
BY GABBY BAILEY
Walmart, Wing collaborate for drone deliveries in Fort Worth
The Walmart Supercenter o North Beach Street in Fort Worth has started using 18 drones to make deliveries to customers living in a 6-mile radius. What’s happening The retail giant partnered with Wing, a drone company, to start drone deliveries for 11 Walmarts in Dallas-Fort Worth, including the location at 8520 N. Beach St., said Catherine Lovett, the policy and community a airs manager for Wing. Wing o ered drone demonstrations at Ninnie Baird Park on Oct. 19, delivering candy, water bottles and other small items. The drones can carry 2.5 pounds of household items, groceries and over-the-counter medications. “As this becomes more popular, [people] are more comfortable with it,” Fort Worth District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf said. “There are no real privacy concerns, which helps by having Wing come out, pull back the curtain and show there’s nothing to be afraid of.” The breakdown Through the Wing app, customers plug in their address then add small-package items to their delivery order. If the drone is unable to nd the customer’s location, it will send a noti cation that it has returned to the store, Lovett said. She added there could be contingencies for drone delivery, like if residents live in heavily wooded areas or are surrounded by power lines. The app has a notice customers must check to clarify they have cleared obstacles from the pinpointed location. When the drone delivers items, it hovers about 20 feet in the air and drops the package down with a tether. “It’ll lower the package, unhook it, the spool then goes back up into the drone and the drone climbs back up to 200 feet, which is cruising altitude, and then takes o for speed,” Lovett said. “It’s coming to us at 65 miles an hour.” If the tether is tugged on three times to bring the drone closer to the ground, it will unhook itself for safety, Lovett said. What else? The drones are autonomous and use the GPS coordinates to set up a ight path to the custom- er’s location. However, Federal Aviation Adminis- tration-certi ed pilots work out of Coppell to make sure the drones are operating properly and that there are no issues in ight, Lovett said. Each drone can y up to 400 feet, below the
A drone was displayed for community members to check out during a demonstration in Fort Worth.
PHOTOS BY GABBY BAILEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
limit of planes and helicopters, but normally remains 150-200 feet above the ground for the duration of its journey. It’s also programmed not to y over restricted airspace and to avoid wildlife, such as migrating birds, Lovett said. They have 12 propellers for vertical movement, four for horizontal motion, and can still operate if one of those propellers stops working. “The drone itself weighs about 11 pounds, Lovett said. “It’s literally wrapped in Styrofoam and recycled plastic parts. The goal is to make the drone sustainable, but also, in the event that there was an incident where there’s a collision, the drone would break apart.” The drones are stored at Walmart and operate between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. What’s next? Lovett said the operations have expanded around Dallas-Fort Worth and include Walmart partnerships in Frisco, Garland, Mans eld and Arlington. She added that the environmental impact will help with carbon dioxide emissions since the drones are completely electric. Lauersdorf agreed, saying the partnership promotes a healthier environment and will allow customers exibility when shopping. “There’s one less car on the road; that’s huge,” Lauersdorf said. “You’re going to start seeing more drones, which means less tra c.”
A drone makes a Walmart delivery during a demonstration at Ninnie Baird Park on Oct. 19.
Walmart Supercenter
N. TARRANT PKWY.
Fort Worth
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22
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