Delivery

Pizza Hut Israel intros drones to zones for delivery

Photo: iStock

January 20, 2021

Pizza Hut Israel has paired with order and delivery tech company, Dragontail Systems to develop a drone food delivery option that circumvents some of the complexities of delivering food in this manner directly to customers' doors. Instead, the pizza brand will deploy autonomous drones to pick-up areas in remote landing zones, like parking lots, where delivery drivers can take them directly to customers.

According to a press release from Dragontail Systems, third-party delivery aggregators like DoorDash and UberEats see drones as the next progression in delivery, although the logistics of implementing this form of order fulfillment have been vexing.

Dragontail has developed its so-called Algo system, which both optimizes and automates the kitchen and dispatching flow, coordinating food prep so multiple meals can be dropped-off when a remote driver is nearby.

These autonomous drones add another layer to its AI-based technology, while offering restaurants and ghost kitchens a chance to reach more consumers, particularly those in outlying suburbs and rural areas, where residents have been challenged to obtain what has become an essential service in areas covered more fully by third-party delivery providers. Likewise, the company said that having the ability to control the kitchen in the way the system does ensured meals are delivered hot and fresh to the end-customer, whether by land or air.

"This technology is vital to the current crisis impacting the restaurant industry," Ido Levanon, CEO and director of Dragontail Systems, said in the release. "Our drone deliveries provide restaurants and delivery drivers an opportunity to reach an extended customer base while doing so in a safe and cost-effective manner."

"The dining experience may look and feel different, but catering to the customer journey remains at the core of the restaurant industry's success. Our technology prioritizes this by optimizing the entire order and delivery process to amplify customer satisfaction, and our drone technology is an added layer in achieving that goal," Levanon added.

The Algo Platform uses a sophisticated patented algorithm to optimize and manage the entire food preparation process from order to delivery. It is the first system in the world to fully automate and streamline the kitchen flow. QSRweb is working with the company and Pizza Hut Israel to take a closer look at this system in coming days.