lucknow

Updated: Jul 01, 2017 14:32 IST

The drone era is upon us. In what could appear as a scene from a Hollywood sci-fi, drones will soon be dropping your favourite cuisine right at your roof top or in the garden area, within minutes of you ordering it.

With a prominent online food portal preparing to launch its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to get food delivered fresh and hot, the idea will soon be a reality, for at least the residents of the state capital.

“Using drones to deliver food would not only expedite the delivery but will also be a revolutionary move in the home delivery system,” said Bilal Arshad, one of the founder members of Online Kaka, a local online food delivery platform.

The portal specialises in delivering the delicacies from the traditional eateries in Old and New Lucknow to residents across city.

Claiming to be the first such initiative in India, the portal authorities are working on getting clearance from the state government.

“We are preparing a proposal and hope to get the nod soon,” said Arshad, who had already arranged for the UAVs.

“They are no common drones but commercial ones. They are going to be the heavy duty drones, capable of covering the radius of more than 5km in minutes,” he said while trying his hand on the newly-bought heavy-duty drone at the backyard of his house in Mahanagar.

Cost of these drones would be no less than Rs one lakh and it would be powered by a heavy duty battery that would support around 3 hours of continuous flying. “And it would be capable of carrying a weight of around 2.5kg in one go,” claimed Arshad.

Air delivery only at eligible houses

Not all houses will qualify for the drone delivery. On clicking the air delivery option, the customers will have to qualify the eligibility criteria.

“Under it, the customer has to mention if the delivery address has an open roof-top or the garden area. Food delivery by drone would be made only at the house that has roof top or the garden area,” said Ahad Arshad, a co-founder member of Online Kaka.

For others, the drone will deliver the food to the nearby cluster office. “And from here it would be delivered by our delivery agent,” Arshad added.

While the charges for the prime delivery mode are yet to be finalized, he said the delivery time will reduce to 10 to 12 minutes.