Walmart is teaming up with Alphabet’s Wing to expand drone delivery service in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.
Walmart has been rolling out its drone delivery service, already offering it in seven states and 36 stores. Dallas-Fort Worth is the company’s latest expansion, adding coverage for some 60,000 homes.
According to Walmart, the service will initially launch from a single store before expanding to include more in the area:
The Walmart Supercenter at 8555 Preston Road in Frisco, Texas, will be the first to launch, joining our existing network of 11 drone hubs already operating in the Dallas area. Once operations begin, customers can download the Wing app from the App Store or Google Play and enter their address to determine if their home is within the Wing drone delivery range. Customers will be able to order items like frozen treats (when those ice cream cravings hit), household essentials, last-minute meal solutions like macaroni and cheese, and even fragile items like eggs.
Wing says customers within six miles of one of the supported stores will be eligible for drone delivery:
It will be available to homes within approximately 6 miles of the stores. But if you’re looking for a pilot with a joystick, you’re not going to find that. Our drones are highly automated! Wing’s technology allows operators to oversee the system from a remote location, which means pilots won’t need to be stationed at stores or customer homes. The aircraft essentially fly themselves, so each operator is approved to safely oversee many drones at the same time.
The companies plan to launch the service at the first store in the coming weeks, with the second store coming online before the end of the year.