Chicago Drone Mailbox Startup Debuts at Smart City Event in Georgia

A Chicago startup that's building a landing spot for at-home drone deliveries held its first public demo Wednesday at a smart city event in an Atlanta suburb.

Valqari, a smart drone delivery mailbox that aims to securely receive packages, groceries and other items, was on display today at a tech event at Peachtree Corners, a city north of Atlanta. On Wednesday, the city held the grand opening of Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, what it calls the nation’s "first intelligent mobility and smart city living laboratory."

The facility includes a 1.5-mile testing track for autonomous vehicles and other machines, and technology on-hand Wednesday included autonomous cars from Kia, autonomous lawnmowers from Greenzie, and self-driving shuttles from Olli. The smart city testbed includes 5G connectivity via Sprint.

Valqari, founded in 2017 by Ryan Walsh and Alex Falesch, showcased its drone receptacle, where its technology helped receive a drone-delivered meal from REEF KITCHENS.

"We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our capabilities at the grand opening of Curiosity Lab and to be the first smart mailbox to receive a drone delivery on its autonomous vehicle test track," Walsh said in a statement.

Several tech companies have publicly expressed interest in developing drone delivery services, including Amazon, Alphabet and Uber. But few plans have detailed exactly how these drones will land and drop off goods, and how they'll consistently deliver items across a range of different types of properties. (A drone delivery in the suburbs has different logistical concerns than a drop-off at an urban high-rise, for example.)

Valqari is creating a universal drone mailbox that aims to accept delivery from any type of drone maker, and it's developing a delivery system that resembles a traditional curbside mailbox as well as a window-mounted version designed for apartments and condos.

Valqari says it has been issued utility patents in 13 countries, including in the U.S., U.K., Germany and China.