Walmart plans to field test its fully autonomous drone delivery service in thefast-growing Collin County city.
Princeton council members approved new zoning laws this week to allow companies to build “hubs” for delivery drone services. Before the vote on the ordinance, which passed 6-0, the company contracted by Walmart to carry out the new service also detailed how its delivery drones will operate in the city.
Municipalities cannot regulate drone operation, but the new ordinance gives city officials some control over where companies can load, launch and rest drones between deliveries, according to a memo from city attorney Grant Lowry.
Ivan Jaime, director of government and public affairs for Walmart, said the company has designated D-FW as an “innovation hub.”
“Any technology we’re thinking about rolling out nationally, first, we test it in Dallas, Fort Worth,” Jaime said.
The new land code defines a “commercial drone delivery hub” as “an area of land, structural surface, building, or structure with one or more designated drone staging areas for use by unmanned aircraft to distribute commercial goods by air.”
The size of hubs will be limited to 10 percent of the total lot, or 1,000 square feet — whichever is greater between the two options. The requirement does not apply to hubs inside, attached to or on the roof of a building primarily used as a drone delivery hub.
Drone delivery hubs cannot be located within 300 feet of properties zoned as residential, retirement and supportive housing facilities or public parks. Companies seeking to build a hub can request a specific use permit from the city to reduce the 300-foot limit to 150 feet.
Zipline, the company contracted with Walmart to carry out the autonomous drone delivery services, met with city officials for the first time in April 2024, Princeton spokeswoman Erin Mudie said in an email.
Walmart’s autonomous drone delivery services in Princeton could start as early as early 2025, Mudie said.
“Drone delivery offers convenience for our residents by enabling quicker access to essential items like groceries and other essentials,” she wrote.
Benoit Miquel, Zipline’s lead for real estate development, said its aerial drones carry items in insulated boxes that can be lowered and raised into the vehicle.
Aerial drones will fly between 300-400 feet in the air, and carry the payload, which has a limit of up to 8 pounds, according to Zipline’s presentation.
Once the drone arrives at a destination, it will remain hovering 300 feet in the air and lower the box with visual sensors to the surface, dropping off the payload before it is hoisted back up into the aerial droid.
Walmart employees will load drones with the payload at the commercial delivery hubs.
Miquel said Zipline’s aerial drone can travel up to 70 miles per hour and has a 10-mile service radius. In Princeton, the service will start with a 2-mile radius, he said.
“It won’t carry your weekly grocery run for a family of six, but if you think about 8 pounds of brisket, that’s a pretty good barbecue,” Miquel told council members.
Zipline has logged 80 million miles of autonomous flight and 1.2 million commercial drone deliveries. The company also plans to launch autonomous delivery services in other parts of the U.S., including Detroit, Houston and Salt Lake City.
Council members asked Zipline representatives about potential noise and safety concerns.
“We’re consistently under 60 decibels,” Miquel said. “To put that into perspective, we’re in that range that is analogous to pretty much car traffic at 300 feet.”
In response to a resident’s concern about the safety of birds, Miquel said bird strikes have not been “an issue.”
“That does not mean we won’t work with local environmental groups if there are some sensitive zones that we need to look at in our flight pattern, we will do so,” Miquel said.
Conor French, the chief regulatory officer for Zipline, said the company operates under a certification of authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, which also oversees the environmental impact of the company’s drone activities.
It has only experienced “a couple of instances of minor property damage” related to its commercial deliveries, French said.
“We have insurance on our UAVs, and we’ve never had something that rose to the level of making a claim under that insurance policy covering all of our aircraft,” French said.
Deputy Fire Chief Steve Gammons told The Dallas Morning News there is potential for the fire department to work with Zipline to deliver life saving medications or trauma equipment to personnel and patients.
French told council members the company is open to working with city departments, schools and other businesses to carry out autonomous drone delivery services.
“Not overpromising everything, but the goal is not to just enshrine this as something that’s at superstores or one company,” French said.
©2024 The Dallas Morning News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
