DoorDash has officially entered the drone delivery business after receiving Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This approval allows the company to launch DoorDash Air, a new division that will build and operate its own commercial drone fleet.
Operational Strategy and Technology
The project began inside DoorDash Labs, the company’s research and development team. This is also the group behind the Dot sidewalk delivery robot.
Although DoorDash is now developing its own drones, it will continue working with existing drone partners Wing and Flytrex. These partnerships will remain part of the company’s delivery network.
DoorDash co-founder and Chief Product Officer Stanley Tang said the company wants all of its delivery systems to work together. Depending on the delivery, orders can be handled by human drivers, sidewalk robots, or drones.
To make this possible, DoorDash built the Autonomous Delivery Platform. This software decides which delivery method is the best choice based on real-time delivery needs.
Tang said the company is developing the entire system itself. This includes the drone hardware, embedded systems, and the software that plans delivery routes.
By building both the drones and the software, DoorDash hopes to make deliveries more efficient for food orders such as sushi, pad thai, and burritos. Tang also said this full-stack approach is one of the company’s main hiring priorities for engineers.
Regulatory and Deployment Roadmap
Even with the new FAA certification, DoorDash has not announced when its own drones will begin commercial deliveries.
The first deployments are expected to be limited pilot programs, where drones fly within the visual range of a human pilot.
For drones to fly longer distances without a pilot watching them directly, DoorDash will need additional FAA approval for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Competitors such as Zipline and Amazon have already received this approval.
Expanding Autonomous Deliveries
DoorDash’s autonomous delivery efforts already include the Dot delivery robot. These robots are operating in several suburbs of Phoenix, including Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler, as well as Fremont, California.
The company is using these robots to test the software that will eventually support its drone fleet.
By combining human drivers, sidewalk robots, and drones into one connected system, DoorDash aims to improve last-mile delivery through a centralized automated platform.
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