In the sky, it’s a bird … It’s a plane … It’s supper, man.
Zing Drones, a Tampa Bay-based startup, is developing a platform to bring delivery drones to the skies across the United States. Functioning like a ride-hailing service, Zing would connect customers with drone pilots, who would launch their vehicles, pick up orders from participating businesses, and drop the cargo off at a predetermined destination. Zing founder Ian Annase thinks the service would help leapfrog traffic, save on gas and put a lot of restless drone pilots to work.
“Currently in America there are over 1.3 million drones registered with the [Federal Aviation Administration] and there are over one hundred thousand pilots who have been certified to fly commercially,” Annase said. “These hundred-thousand pilots do things like drone photography and inspections, but those markets are starting to become saturated.”
Here’s how Annase envisions Zing will work: Drone pilots register through a mobile app and pay $80 for one of the company’s custom delivery boxes, which attach to the bottom of popular DJI drones like the Phantom and Mavic. Customers use the Zing app to order a meal or package from a local brick-and-mortar store, spending between $5 and $10 dollars for the delivery. The pilot then launches the drones, flies to the destination (within a 2-mile radius), collects the order and delivers it to the customer. The pilot earns the delivery fee and Zing makes money from selling its boxes to pilots and through monthly subscriptions from businesses that want to offer its service. More than just meals, Annase thinks things like pharmaceuticals — anything under three pounds — could be delivered via Zing.
But this vision is still far off. Today, the bootstrapped company’s three founding members and advisor are focused on developing its app and carrying device. The company crowdfunded just under $1,850 from 30 backers in March. Annase said a handful of pilots across the U.S., Australia and Europe have made roughly 150 deliveries, which the company has collected data on to refine its software. Around 1,800 drone pilots have registered with Zing, according to Annase, and the app has been downloaded more than 400 times.
No shortage of obstacles stand in Zing’s way before Annase’s vision becomes reality. Over the past few years, the FAA has begun to crack down on commercial drone operations, citing safety concerns. Meanwhile, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have warned that unchecked drone use poses a privacy risk, causing some states to put restrictions on the aerial vehicles.
Zing faces stiff competition from giants like Amazon, who made its first pilot delivery in 2016, and companies like Wing, an Alphabet-backed company that just received approval to launch a commercial delivery service in Australia. Both have their eyes on the U.S. market.
Perhaps surprisingly, Annase sees this competition as beneficial to Zing. He anticipates Amazon and Wing will enter the market first and take the brunt of the FAA’s regulatory pushback, while Zing adjusts to fall in line with guidelines. Plus, by accessing pilots who already own drones, Zing hopes to provide services below the cost of competitors and tap into the rise in peer-to-peer services.
“We’re trying to create a low barrier to entry and open up the platform to the hundred-thousand pilots with smaller drones across the states,” Annase said.
