QSR Magazine: How Technology is Taking Over the Restaurant Industry

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finally established rules to govern the use of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) for commercial use in the U.S. in June. Google and Amazon, which have each shown off prototypes for such purposes but have been waiting on clarification from the government, took notice—as did foodservice companies hoping to employ an army of drones for food delivery.

The rules make large-scale food delivery with drones almost impossible. Such commercial uses are limited to situations where the pilot is within view of the drone at all times, and the drone cannot fly over anyone not involved in the transaction, according to the FAA.

But that isn’t stopping restaurant brands from designing other innovative services to expedite delivery. From robots to self-driving cars, technology is bringing the business of food delivery into the 21st century.

No better example of this can be found than Domino’s U.S. branch, which has historically shown a penchant to adopt technology quickly and to great effect.

In October 2015, Domino’s unveiled a new fleet of state-of-the-art delivery vehicles. The DXP delivery vehicle is specialized for pizza delivery purposes, complete with a warming oven, a two-phase light atop the car that indicates when it is out on a delivery, enough storage capacity to hold a whopping 80 pizzas, and additional storage to easily hold menu items like salads, soda, and napkins.