More than two years ago, Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos spoke on 60 Minutes about delivering goods to homes with unmanned aircraft, or drones.
But a little Australian start-up now based near Reno, Nevada, has beat Amazon to the punch.
The company, called Flirtey, made its first household delivery via drone in July, from a 7-Eleven. Flirtey likes to say its partnership with the convenience-store chain will save parents with sick children a late-night run to the store for medicine.
But the drone deliveries are conveniently made with insulated boxes, so a chili dog and Slurpee dropping from the sky to your home is within reach.
Flirtey co-founder and CEO Matt Sweeney says his company was able to jump ahead of Amazon by working with government regulators to get early approval to run tests.
And those test runs have paid off: Sweeney boldly predicts delivery by drone will be a regular sight within a year.
Bloomberg
