The exemption request said Walmart’s distribution system “could become more efficient and consumers could be better served” if it were able to engage in drone testing.
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Another use of drones Walmart wants to test is grocer pickup.
In the application filed with the FAA, Wal-Mart said it also wants to test home delivery in small residential neighborhoods after it gains the permission needed from those living in the flight path.
Retailer Wal-Mart has finally joined the long list of companies testing drones for automation of deliveries and other tasks. The Company’s operations are conducted in three segments: Walmart US, Walmart global and Sam’s Club.
The company said it is interested in researching the use of drones both within its supply chain and as a way of delivering goods to customers.
If provided an exemption, Walmart plans to use its drones in a few different ways. That bodes well for Wal-Mart’s application because the agency has also approved hundreds of companies to use the Chinese-made drones that Wal-Mart is seeking to test. Amazon wants a high-speed drone zone between 200 and 400 feet while Google has argued that all airspace under 500 feet be reserved for drones that fly automatically, and that they’re integrated with a next-generation air-traffic control system now being developed by the FAA and NASA.
While waiting, come companies managed to still test drones, bypassing the United States regulator’s regulations.
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Thus far, FAA has granted 2,020 permits for commercial drones through October. 22, for purposes such as aerial photography, pipeline inspection and agricultural monitoring. According to Reuters, Walmart has applied for a commercial drone license at the FAA today. In June, the agency said it expects to have its regulations in place within a year-well after it expects over a million more drones to be sold as Christmas presents this holiday season. The test flights would confirm whether a drone could deliver a package to a pick-up point in the parking lot of a store, the application says. Dan Toporek, a spokesperson for Wal- Mart, says the world’s largest retailer is waiting for the green light from the FAA and when it receives the go- ahead, it will put its plans into action.
