Arlington to pilot drones and robots for food bank deliveries

The City of Arlington, Texas has announced plans to trial drones and wheeled robots for food bank deliveries.

The project, which will run to the end of 2025, aims to test the efficiency and scalability of using autonomous, electric delivery vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while serving residents in need.

During the two-year study, around 300 boxes of food will be delivered via an Aerialoop drone and a Clevon autonomous delivery robot to Tarrant Area Food Bank clients living in East Arlington.

Aerialoop’s battery-powered ALT6-4 VTOL Delivery Drone is six feet long and can carry nearly nine pounds. The CLEVON 1 robot has a cargo bay that clients can unlock with a code to access their delivery.

Airspace Link’s AirHub Portal will be used to provide the data and digital infrastructure for planning and operations, including detailed ground and air analysis that will help drone operators determine take-off, landing and delivery routes.

The city said routes will be developed to avoid flying over residential areas and high-traffic roads, and onboard sensors will use data only for navigation purposes.

Funding

“As transportation technology advances, so does the potential to make positive changes in the way we connect people with goods and services. Using electric drones and ground delivery robots to provide ‘last-mile’ delivery services can be a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional delivery vehicles,” said Alicia Winkelblech, the City of Arlington’s Transportation Director.

The project is expected to cost US$1.6 million, nearly half of which is funded through a US$780,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The required local match will come from contributions from project partners through in-kind staff time and the use of equipment.

Other partners are the University of Texas at Arlington’s Institute of Urban Studies, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition.

The city plans to host an event where the public can see the technology and learn more about the study prior to the first deliveries, which are expected in spring next year.

Stephen Raeside, Chief External Affairs Officer at Tarrant Area Food Bank, said: “We worked very closely with the City of Arlington during COVID, a time we both innovated quickly to meet soaring hunger in the city.

“Emergency distributions feeding up to 10,000 families at Arlington sports stadiums changed our distribution model, but also made us consider how we could remain nimble and agile by utilising new technology to meet the daily needs of struggling Arlington families.”