12 months after introducing its revolutionary Platform 2 delivery system, Zipline perfected the Droid idea. A device capable of autonomously bringing packages into a delivery area of just one meter in diameter while the main drone remains suspended hundreds of meters in the air.
What at first glance might seem like an unnecessarily complex solution could turn out to be the turning point in solving the most difficult problems of precision deliveries in urban environments.
(seemingly) impossible challenge
When Zipline presented Platform 2 about a year ago, many looked at the Droid system with skepticism. Why complicate things with an additional device when other solutions simply lower the packages directly with the entire drone? But the Zipline team knew that appearances can be deceiving. “We wanted to create not just the best drone package delivery experience, but the best delivery experience overall,” he explains Keenan Wyrobek, co-founder and CTO of Zipline.
The challenge was twofold: ensure precise deliveries in tight spaces and integrate the system into existing buildings, something Platform 1 was unable to do. Existing solutions, such as simply dropping packages from a drone, have proven insufficient. “As soon as we tried to lower a box with a winch, the wind started swinging it everywhere,” he recalls Zoltan Laszlo, leading the Platform 2 project. It was clear that a different approach was needed.
Parcel office manager? Long live the seal
This title is a regurgitation of the 70s and 80s but it makes sense, and now you will find out. Because the solution for Zipline arrived in the form of an autonomous device equipped with thrusters and sensors, capable of compensating for the wind and descending towards the delivery point with surgical precision. But how to make this device acceptable and non-intimidating to people? Question of design.
“We wanted something that people could recognize as accessible and adorable, even without thinking about it,” he explains Gregoire Vandenbussche, industrial designer at Zipline. Inspiration came from marine mammals, with their simplicity of shape and optimization for performance. The result? A device that resembles a baby seal, with a rounded shape and a friendly appearance.
It's easier
The real genius of the Droid system, in short, lies in the way it simplifies seemingly complex problems. Holding the main drone overhead and entrusting the delivery to the smaller Droid reduces power consumption and delivery time, but also makes it easier to control the device and sense its surroundings.
“It may seem like a more complex system from the outside, but it's making all the hardest problems much simpler,” explains Wyrobek. A philosophy that is reflected in every aspect of the Droid's design, from the thrusters optimized to manage the wind to the on-board intelligence that allows it to find the delivery point in complete autonomy.
A future of precise and sustainable parcel deliveries
After a lot of time and effort, Droid is about to become a reality. Zipline has partnered for residential deliveries to consumers starting later this year, covering everything from prescriptions to food.
The Droid is a step towards a future where package deliveries are more precise, more efficient and more sustainable. A future where a device the size of a baby seal can mean the difference between a successful and failed delivery.
I can't help but be amazed, but I should be used to it: sometimes, the most innovative solutions are found by looking at the world from a different perspective. Even if this perspective comes from hundreds of meters high, and is suspended by a thread.
