It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… A BURRITO?!
A late night burrito fix may no longer involve a midnight trip to the drive-through. In fact, if Chipotle and Alphabet’s Project Wing (a branch of tech behemoth Google) have their way, burrito lovers nationwide can look to the friendly skies for their next post-fiesta feast.
On September 8th Alphabet’s Project Wing announced that they will be testing the burrito-delivery drones at their authorized test site at Virginia Tech in Blackburg, VA. Project Wing has a blanket authorization from the FAA at their test sites for testing drones for package delivery under 400 feet. While the drones won’t take off from Chipotle stores with orders, test participants will be able to order from a special kiosk on campus, prompting the drones to take off from Chipotle food trucks and ultimately lower the packages to the ground. The tests will include autonomous drones being monitored by human operators.
According to Project Wing spokesperson Jacquelyn Miller, “Project Wing will be working with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) to conduct this test. MAAP runs an FAA test site at Virginia Tech, which is operated for the purpose of gathering research data to shape regulations and operational procedures for future applications of UAS (unmanned aerial systems) and eventually helping them integrate safely into the national airspace.”
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