Grubhub drone food delivery to begin in New Jersey with pilot program. Here's how it works.
Grubhub is launching New Jersey's first commercial food delivery by drone.
CBS News New York's Nick Caloway has learned more about the high-tech service and how it's expected to work.
"We think the food will stay hotter"
It looks like something out of the future, but starting this week, Somerset County customers ordering certain meals through the Grubhub app may see their dinner arrive from the sky.
The mobile food ordering and delivery platform is testing autonomous drone delivery within a 2.5-mile radius of Wonder, a food technology start up in Green Brook.
The price is the same as a standard delivery but gets to customers faster.
"Less minutes, less miles. We think the food will stay hotter. We think that there will be less emission on the road from a vehicle, if it works," said Stephanie Brown, Wonder's head of community and government affairs.
The drone lowers food using a tether system and follows Federal Aviation Administration-approved routes.
The pilot program, the first of its kind in the Northeast, starts on Wednesday and will last for three months. If it's successful, the service could expand.
Safety is paramount, drone operator says
Company officials say the drone goes about 40 mph but add safety comes first.
"We are fully autonomous, but we always have a pilot at the controls, always monitoring the aircraft, and always able to steer the aircraft," said Joe Houghton, COO of Dexa, an FAA-certified drone delivery company.
During a community demonstration Tuesday, high winds forced operators to keep the drone only about 5 feet above the ground, but neighbors still showed up to see the tech in action. Green Brook resident Danny Hughes said he was initially worried about the noise.
"And I just saw it take off. I'm not worried now," Hughes said.