Drone delivers package to residential area for first time

A drone yesterday successfully delivered a package to a residential location in a small Nevada town. According to the maker of the drone, Flirtey, and the governor of the state, it was the first fully autonomous urban drone delivery in the US.

According to Flirtey chief Matt Sweeney, the six-rotor drone flew about a half-mile along a pre-programmed delivery route on 10 March and delivered the package outside a vacant residence in an uninhabited area of Hawthorne, southeast of Reno.

The route was established using GPS and a pilot and visual observers had been placed on standby during the flight but were not needed, according to Sweeney.

The package included bottled water, food and a first-aid kit, he added.

"Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban setting is a major achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make regular deliveries to your front doorstep," AP quoted Sweeney as saying.

Nevada governor Brian Sandoval congratulated the company "on successfully completing the nation's first fully autonomous urban package delivery."

"I am thrilled that Flirtey is not only testing its cutting-edge technology in Nevada, but also creating jobs through its headquarters relocation to Reno," Sandoval said in a statement.

Meanwhile, NASA had been working with the drone industry as also the Federal Aviation Administration on a low-altitude air traffic control system to prevent crashes involving drones and other low-altitude aircraft.

The company had conducted the first FAA-approved, rural drone delivery in July to a rural health care clinic in Virginia.

According to Sweeny, the Nevada delivery demonstrated that advanced drone systems allowed aerial vehicles to safely navigate around buildings and deliver packages with precision within a populated area.

Flirtey, which recently moved its headquarters from Australia to Nevada said the recent delivery was filmed for an upcoming ABC-TV documentary.