BENTONVILLE, AR – Debuting the latest in its strategic utilization of recent technology, Walmart unleashed the newest member of its team; a drone.
Featuring a custom-built camera that takes 30 pictures a second, the drone is being tested in a distribution center near the company’s headquarters in Arkansas. Walmart is currently testing the effectiveness of the drone in roles which can be dangerous and more time-consuming for its human counterparts.
Shekar Natarajan, Walmart Vice President of Emerging Sciences and Strategy & Planning, said in a statement to Bloomberg that the drone is still in its testing stages, and is expected to remain there for the next six to nine months.
The drone flies, pilot-free, amongst shelves of merchandise and takes pictures of every item, making sure that each product is placed in the correct spot so it can quickly be found when needed. If the drone finds an incorrectly placed item, an employee manning the “air traffic control” center will be notified in real-time of the improperly located item's location on a computerized map. From there, a worker can move and correct the item.
The company reported that this task usually takes two people at least one month to perform manually, and can be dangerous as it requires them to ride a lift several stories above the distribution center floor to reach high shelves. The drone, however, can complete this task with ease within an hour.
The company eventually hopes to use drones as part of its logistics network of over 100 distribution centers and 4,500 U.S. stores. Walmart also has interest in using the drones to assist with tracking merchandise and trailers outside of its distribution filings, according to a filing with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Walmart asked the FAA for a waiver to test its drones outdoors so the company could eventually use them to deliver products straight to consumers, similar to moves seen by Amazon and Alphabet Inc.
Consumers, however, will have to continue to wait until the FAA finalizes its regulations before they can expect the arrival of product-laden drones at their doors.
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