A northern Nevada-based drone delivery company Flirtey has unveiled its new Flirtey Eagle quadcopter. This new drone system brings improvements to Flirtey’s already active drone delivery system. The company predicts that stores could someday use it to get products to customers within minutes.
The Eagle is claimed to be capable of flying in 95% of weather conditions and can fit 75% of packages in its compartment. The company says the drone aims to complete deliveries anywhere within the city in less than ten minutes.
The Flirtey Eagle is controlled by its autonomous software platform, which has received FAA approval for the first multi-drone delivery operation in the US. When not in use, the drone sits in an enclosed Portal take-off and landing station that fits into one parking space, making its infrastructure easily scalable to the company’s partners for store-to-door delivery.
As the Eagle is loaded with the package, it rises out of the Portal on an elevating platform, and then takes to the air. It moves to autonomously make its way to the customer’s home with GPS guidance. Though the drone can fly autonomously, a centrally-located human operator remotely monitors its flight, along with the other nine Eagles.
The drone uses a tether to lower the package at the drop-off location as it arrives at its destination. And once the package is delivered, it retracts the tether and flies back to the Portal, where it recharges its battery while awaiting its next delivery.
