Previously, it was reported that Amazon is getting ready to fly their drones and testing them out in the open. Wal-Mart now joins in on the drone fun and has also applied for permissions to test their own drones for home delivery. This looks like a one on one with Amazon, Time reports.
If you're no stranger to financial news, then you'd know that Walmart's been trying to get back in on the game, seeing that Amazon has been leading and Wal-Mart is trying to cement its feet and vice versa. For every action done, the other will counter that action. And not only that, Amazon has begun using drone for retail and distribution uses, other companies like Google are also getting in on the act.
Wal-Mart's drones are made by the Chinese SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd. While Walmart has already begun testing their drones indoors, and is excited to try to test it outside. These unmanned aircraft systems takes inventory of trailers outside its warehouses and performs other tasks towards efficient distribution. With that said, Wal-Mart has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to approve their permission to test the drones. The FAA is trying to set some ground rules for drone commercial use. FAA Deputy administrator Michael Whitaker expects to finalize regulations within the next year.
With Amazon promising to deliver packages via Amazon Prime Air as soon as federal rules allow, Wal-Mart is trying to move quickly to deploy drones for testing under federal regulations.
It has become public knowledge that drones can be of potential use to most industries. For the retail industriy, distribution and deliveries are the prime goals ensuring productive and efficient routes between fulfillment or distribution centers to consumer homes or customer centers.
Right now, commercial use of drones are illegal but the FAA has approved 2,100 exemptions to allow commercial drone testing, to date.
