Domino's Tests "Drone-Delivered Pizza" in New Zealand

[Steven Bogos]

Domino's Tests "Drone-Delivered Pizza" in New Zealand

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1345/1345826.jpg
Could this be the end for the humble pizza delivery boy?

Drones are being used for more and more these days, and with online shopping website Amazon testing the waters [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137204-Delivery-Drones-Google-Amazon-NASA-FAA-Air-Traffic-Control] for drone-delivery of packages, it was only a matter of time before drone-delivered pizza became a thing. In New Zealand, that dream has become a reality, with Domino's pizza aiming to make its deliveries by air.

"It doesn't add up to deliver a two kilogram package in a two-ton vehicle," said Scott Bush, a general manager for Domino's Pizza Enterprises New Zealand. "In Auckland, we have such massive traffic congestion it just makes sense to take to the airways."

Bush said test deliveries to actual customers will begin September 26 out of one Auckland store, and if successful may end up rolling across the entire nation. New Zealand's drone rules don't currently allow a drone to fly farther than the drone's operator can see, so a human operator will still be needed to operate the drone. If you're currently a pizza delivery boy, you may want to brush up on your drone operating skills...

"We want to push it as hard as we can and roll it out globally throughout our seven markets," Bush said. The markets Bush is referring to are Australia, Japan, The Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany, as Domino's in these countries are operated by a completely separate entity to the US chain. In other words, don't hold your breath for drone-delivered pizza in the US quite yet!

Source: CNN [http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/26/technology/dominos-drone-new-zealand/]

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[MeatMachine]

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

 

[Hawki]

As long as they don't fly too high. There's nothing worse than cold pizza.

 

[irish286]

Sending an unaccompanied several hundred dollar machine comprised of parts that are easily disassembled separated and sold to deliver $20 of pizza... Yea, that's going to work so well.

 

[Saelune]

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

 

[Elijin]

Ohhhhh.

The bit about America being a totally different company really makes things click into place for me. I'm not saying Dominos is the best thing ever, but the whole 'eating cardboard' thing never really made a lot of sense to me. Then again this isn't the first time I've run into confusion based in US fast food being terrible and the international chains being fine.

 

[persephone]

I'm just wondering how the pizza arrives without being smushed all to one side of the box. I mean, that happens with delivery by car as it is, sometimes. You'd think it'd be quite a trick for a machine to make sure the pizza doesn't slide around.

Also, they're probably not doing this in America because somebody WOULD shoot down the drone for fun. Not even for profit. (Course they'll do it for profit too.)

And, what do they expect the human watching the drone to do, other than drive said two-ton vehicle? Ride a bike? Better hope the path to your destination allows for that safely ...

 

[mad825]

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

I would be far more happy if M.A.D happened. As far as I'm concerned "new york" pizza are one of the most shittyist pizzas around. Even my supermarket value brand has more sustenance.

If you have to fold your pizza in half, then you're eating the wrong kind of pizza. The pizza is flaccid.

Also, the rest of the world has more than just Dominoes, Dominoes are the "walmart" equivalent.

 

[Zhukov]

New Zealand's drone rules don't currently allow a drone to fly farther than the drone's operator can see, so a human operator will still be needed to operate the drone.

Wait, how's that going to work?

Even if the operator is standing on a high tower, that's still a pretty short range.

If the operator is mobile then they might as deliver it themselves.

If someone's house is behind a hill or something does that mean they'll still need regular delivery boys?

 

[Veldel]

As long as they don't fly too high. There's nothing worse than cold pizza.

Mate next day pizza that's cold is fucking amazin. Its best when you get it hot and best next day when its cold

 

[Rednog]

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

Oddly enough many pizza brands outside of the US are pretty much name alone.
Many US Pizza companies essentially sell their branding to other companies because the name is well known. While I personally haven't experienced Dominoes outside the US I went to a Pizza Hut and it was kind of a weird semi formal experience, like a sit down and order from a waiter type of restaurant.

 

[Saelune]

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

I would be far more happy if M.A.D happened. As far as I'm concerned "new york" pizza are one of the most shittyist pizzas around. Even my supermarket value brand has more sustenance.

If you have to fold your pizza in half, then you're eating the wrong kind of pizza. The pizza is flaccid.

Also, the rest of the world has more than just Dominoes, Dominoes are the "walmart" equivalent.

What NY Pizza did you eat? Soggy/flimsy pizza isn't good pizza.

A chain pizza is a chain pizza. Dominoes, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, etc, all awful. Most of them just rely on drowning your pizza with toppings and weird crusts.

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

Oddly enough many pizza brands outside of the US are pretty much name alone.
Many US Pizza companies essentially sell their branding to other companies because the name is well known. While I personally haven't experienced Dominoes outside the US I went to a Pizza Hut and it was kind of a weird semi formal experience, like a sit down and order from a waiter type of restaurant.

Never went to a non-US Pizza place, but even here "restaurant" pizza places tend to be bad. Maybe them trying too hard to be fancy, cause while I love Pizza and clearly am arrogant about "good" pizza, its still closer to fast-food than not.

 

[Laughing Man]

So the rules currently require that a drone cannot be flown further than the operator can see, so either this delivery service is going to be delivering pizza to people in locations who should really stop being lazy fucks and just walk to the pizzeria or they are going to solve the huge congestion problem by flying their pizzas by drone while having the operator drive alongside it trying to operate both the car as well as the drone.

What a totally fucking stupid plan this is.

 

[SupahEwok]

New Zealand's drone rules don't currently allow a drone to fly farther than the drone's operator can see, so a human operator will still be needed to operate the drone.

Wait, how's that going to work?

Even if the operator is standing on a high tower, that's still a pretty short range.

If someone's house is behind a hill or something does that mean they'll still need regular delivery boys?

If the operator is mobile then they might as deliver it themselves.

New Zealand's bringing zeppelins back, mark my words. Clever bastards, trying to hide them behind getting around drone laws, but I see what they're doing.

As long as they don't fly too high. There's nothing worse than cold pizza.

Mate next day pizza that's cold is fucking amazin. Its best when you get it hot and best next day when its cold

YUS

I'm just wondering how the pizza arrives without being smushed all to one side of the box. I mean, that happens with delivery by car as it is, sometimes. You'd think it'd be quite a trick for a machine to make sure the pizza doesn't slide around.

Drone's probably gonna be taking it slow. Those things are pretty amazing, but they rely on lightweight plastics and what not to work. Stuff like that can't handle the same inertial forces a car goes through. If the drone goes through enough inertial force to smush the pizza like that, chances are that it's not going to arrive.

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

And that's why they don't have to waste money on gee-gaws for Americans, they know they got us because we're too lazy to go sit down at a real pizza joint and too cheap to order delivery from a quality, locally based place.

 

[Marik2]

Yup more people are going to lose their job in the next couple of years. We better change the social economic system to adapt to these changes.

 

[MeatMachine]

Japan gets movie projector pizza boxes, New Zealand gets pizzas delivered by drones...
Come on Dominos, give us Americans some cool shit. I can guarantee you we eat the most pizza.

Pffft. As a New Yorker, I pity the rest of the world that Dominoes is the best they got.

So until New York pizza can be delivered world-wide, drones and such aren't that big an advancement.

I've heard the tall tales of New York pizza quality.
I live in a rural southwestern town. We have amazing Mexican food, but as far as pizza goes, Papa John's is basically gourmet.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Yup more people are going to lose their job in the next couple of years. We better change the social economic system to adapt to these changes.

What's the point of automation if it doesn't concentrate wealth into the hands of upper management and shareholders?

In all seriousness, what I worry about is what will the young do to afford rent and to go to university.

People can bleat all they want about a 'basic income' package, which works right up until the point where you realize no one is paying taxes and everybody is producing shit as cheaply as possible, so it defaults to the status quo of current systems of globalization.

Basically if you axe 30% of the workforce, and then expect someone like me to provide all of them a basic wage, the response will be; "No...." and I'll move someplace I don't have to. I live off my investments. Living in Australia already doesn't provide me with much barring my good will that I want to invest in the country that has given me a lot. I could live in the US and be making tens of thousands each year more. And still not work. So why do I live in Australia? Because it's Australia and not the US. But that good will may be subverted by the expectation where the government simply just takes 90% of my revenue.

What I foresee? Return of government industry ... because you'll still get more out of a human doing something than a human doing nothing, so automation will continue to do what it's always done .... lower people's real wages while make certain segments of the population very wealthy.

And as much as people want to bleat on about; "People will do smarter stuff..." the only real valueof a person's labour is how much it is needed vs. how much total supply of labour is looking for work. If you reduce the number of jobs, and people have fewer and fewer options to make their labour valuable, competition for jobs increases and that ALWAYS lowers total profitability of one's labour.

So all those very clever robotics engineers now earning 100k+ suddenly find themselves outsourced by cheaper labour, doing the same job, with the same training, for a far reduced paycheque. Who's the one that is happy? Me, the **** that purchased 350k worth of sharesin your company and is at the AGM, joining the chorus of people demanding the CEO to cut back on overheads (like your job) ....

Rich get richer, bitches. Money doesn't talk, it screams. The effects of grandscale automation is theoretically no different from outsourcing in the 80s and 90s. It merely takes money out of worker's pockets and puts it someplace else ... usually into mine and people like me.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

So the rules currently require that a drone cannot be flown further than the operator can see, so either this delivery service is going to be delivering pizza to people in locations who should really stop being lazy fucks and just walk to the pizzeria or they are going to solve the huge congestion problem by flying their pizzas by drone while having the operator drive alongside it trying to operate both the car as well as the drone.

What a totally fucking stupid plan this is.

I think it's more so that they'll just install cameras on the drone. Then the operator 'can see' exactly where they are and where they're going through the medium of a mk1 human eyeball. The idea being that the government just won't allow automated drones delivering pizza and relying on preprogrammed responses for obstacle navigation and collision prevention. Also puts definite limits on the range of the drone, but not in the way you might expect. Moreso when the distance lag or industrial noise floors would affect comms between operator and drone.

That way the operator is clearly at fault if someone gets hurt or property is damaged. Clear cut compensatory means. Same way truck drivers are responsible for making sure their loads are balanced and on paper they are responsible if they don't take the time to certify this is so. Hence why you won't likely see automated trucks in New Zealand.

 

[Strazdas]

As long as they don't fly too high. There's nothing worse than cold pizza.

I dont think commercial drones can reach the height where this becomes a factor worthy of resolving. From what i understand their flight height is on average around 50 meters.

I'm just wondering how the pizza arrives without being smushed all to one side of the box. I mean, that happens with delivery by car as it is, sometimes. You'd think it'd be quite a trick for a machine to make sure the pizza doesn't slide around.

actually drones are pretty damn good at keeping balance and staying upright regardless of flight pattern or wind condition. the pizza will probably get a less bumpy ride than when taken by a car.

In all seriousness, what I worry about is what will the young do to afford rent and to go to university.

People can bleat all they want about a 'basic income' package, which works right up until the point where you realize no one is paying taxes and everybody is producing shit as cheaply as possible, so it defaults to the status quo of current systems of globalization.

Basically if you axe 30% of the workforce, and then expect someone like me to provide all of them a basic wage, the response will be; "No...." and I'll move someplace I don't have to. I live off my investments. Living in Australia already doesn't provide me with much barring my good will that I want to invest in the country that has given me a lot. I could live in the US and be making tens of thousands each year more. And still not work. So why do I live in Australia? Because it's Australia and not the US. But that good will may be subverted by the expectation where the government simply just takes 90% of my revenue.

What I foresee? Return of government industry ... because you'll still get more out of a human doing something than a human doing nothing, so automation will continue to do what it's always done .... lower people's real wages while make certain segments of the population very wealthy.

And as much as people want to bleat on about; "People will do smarter stuff..." the only real valueof a person's labour is how much it is needed vs. how much total supply of labour is looking for work. If you reduce the number of jobs, and people have fewer and fewer options to make their labour valuable, competition for jobs increases and that ALWAYS lowers total profitability of one's labour.

So all those very clever robotics engineers now earning 100k+ suddenly find themselves outsourced by cheaper labour, doing the same job, with the same training, for a far reduced paycheque. Who's the one that is happy? Me, the **** that purchased 350k worth of sharesin your company and is at the AGM, joining the chorus of people demanding the CEO to cut back on overheads (like your job) ....

Rich get richer, bitches. Money doesn't talk, it screams. The effects of grandscale automation is theoretically no different from outsourcing in the 80s and 90s. It merely takes money out of worker's pockets and puts it someplace else ... usually into mine and people like me.

You are looking at this from a very different perspective. I can understand, you are a capitalism minded fellow and you claimed to be a millionare in another thread. In which case yes, you should be taxed. The entire problem of current failing economical system is that the disparity between rich and poor get higher. No, people wont "do smarter stuff". The good thing about automatization is they they wont have to. The robots/AI will allow us to do what we like instead of having to do what we dont just to survive. And yes, some people will choose to do nothing and that is entirely fine. Thats the entire point of automatization, you dont need to get more out of a human, you use automation to allow human the smae standard of living while doing less.

 

[weirdee]

Rich people can't afford to reject too large a portion of the population from capitalism, or else they'll actually cause their money to lose meaning and influence. They'll have to keep coming up with new ways for people to do entirely stupid things with some kind of arbitrary value assignment to remain in control, such as finding more jobs that are functionally useless, like desk jobs that only have one hour of actual work each day. Every part of the system more or less doesn't really care about what they're doing as long as they're able to survive at the end of the day, so it doesn't really matter whether or not it means anything.