When people refer to the Nevada, most of the time they would think of Las Vegas, which is the most famous city in the Silver State. Hawthorne? Not too much, as this town with approximately 3,000 inhabitants live a pretty quiet life. Having said that, it looks like Hawthorne might have just set a rather historic precedent – by being the venue of the maiden urban delivery by a fully autonomous drone in the US.
The drone was handled by drone delivery company Flirtey, which kicked off three years ago in Australia, where it delivered the likes of textbooks to universities, prior to shifting its base a continent away to Nevada. The drone itself is a six-engine multicopter that flew along a predetermined path where it will lower the package upon arrival at the target house. This package consists of bottled water, emergency food, and a first aid kit.
It was a demonstration of what a rescue drone could be able to do during times of emergency, and it seems that an urban setting was also ideal for such operations for a drone. Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeney claimed that 86% of packages weigh no more than 5.5 pounds, and hence, the drone is full well capable of handling such weight within a 10 mile radius.