There has been widespread attention on using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to deliver freshly made food (pizza, chicken wings, etc.), but now a dry cleaner in Philadelphia is delivering freshly cleaned clothes.
In an effort to promote the business, Manayunk Cleaners is reportedly operating a remote-controlled DJI Phantom quadcopter to send back dry-cleaned clothes to its customers, NBC Philadelphia reports.
An operator and a spotter team up to launch the UAV, carrying up to two pounds, from the sidewalk. They attach the clothing to a clip that dangles from the aircraft once it is in the air – presumably in an effort to keep the clothes from contamination on the ground.
Harout Vartanian, the 24-year-old owner of the business, told NBC Philadelphia that the deliveries have been only to customers at local businesses, but he is looking to further expand the service.
As for the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules concerning commercial operations of UAVs, Vartanian is not worried: “It’s just a toy,” he declared to the news channel.
The full NBC Philadelphia report can be found here.
