A drone picked up a package with beverages at a drone-delivery station outside the clubhouse restaurant and delivered it to a second delivery station on the golf course, where a golfer retrieved it after being notified and providing identify verification. “We were duly impressed with this game-changing approach to delivering drinks, food and snacks to golfers; it really does take customer experience and convenience to an entirely new level,” said Jamey Lewis, Sun City CC’s Director of Golf.
A drone-delivery system to take food-and-beverage orders to golfers on the course was successfully demonstrated recently at the Sun City (Ariz.) Country Club, Freightwaves.com reported.
Drone provider AgEagle Aerial Systems partnered for the test with Valqari, a Chicago, Ill.-based startup that is building a drone-delivery “mailbox” that allows drones to deliver packages directly into a safe and secure box, Freightwaves.com reported.
At Sun City CC, a drone picked up a package with beverages at the Valqari Drone Delivery Station outside the clubhouse restaurant and delivered that package to a second delivery station located on the course, Freightwaves.com reported.
Once the drone released the package and departed, the Drone Delivery Station was activated, relocating the package from the top of the station to a lower compartment for the golfer to retrieve the order, Freightwaves.com reported.
Valqari’s system allows the creation of an order through an app, Freightwaves.com reported. A box is inserted into a slot in the Drone Delivery Station. A global positioning system navigates the drone to the landing pad, where an “elevator system” raises the package to the drone to be attached.
As the drone approaches the destination, it signals the Delivery Station to open the storage compartment, lowers itself in and releases the package onto a pad, Freightwaves.com reported. The package is then lowered into the correct compartment, where it is locked and secured until pickup.
The recipient receives a notification the package is ready for pickup, Freightwaves.com reported. Upon arrival at the box, the recipient must verify his or her identity and select the proper package for retrieval. The slot will then open once that is all confirmed.
“We were very pleased to have Sun City serve as the site for the AgEagle and Valqari pilot demo,” said Jamey Lewis, PGA, the club’s Director of Golf. “We were duly impressed with their game-changing approach to delivering drinks, food and snacks to golfers and can envision this system being integrated into our course, and perhaps courses worldwide, in the future. It really does take customer experience and convenience to an entirely new level.”
Added Ryan Walsh, founder and CEO of Valqari: “Sun City Country Club provided us with the ideal venue for conducting this initial pilot test. We greatly appreciate their enthusiasm for the prospect of enhancing the overall golfing experience for their patrons through drone-enabled, on-demand delivery of food and refreshments to our secure Drone Delivery Stations.
“This demonstration of AgEagle and Valqari technologies shows just one of the many ways our joint system can be used to optimize fast and secure deliveries for industries ranging from hospitality to commercial deliveries and beyond,” Walsh added.
“Successfully demonstrating our drone delivery system at Sun City Country Club was the first crucial step in advancing our efforts to produce turnkey drone solutions capable of addressing real-world commercial applications on and off the golf course,” added Michael Drozd, CEO of AgEagle Aerial Systems.
A video of the system in action can be viewed here:
C+RB has reported previously on a drone service used to deliver beverages at Michael Jordan’s new course, The Grove XXIII (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/drone-beverage-service-highlights-perks-at-the-grove-xxiii/).
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