Zipline unveils Platform 2 precision residential drone delivery system

Zipline unveiled Platform 2 on 15 March 2023 for autonomous drone deliveries to homes and businesses in urban and suburban settings. Its aircraft was designed to remain at altitude while lowering a small delivery vehicle on a tether for controlled placement at a designated location. Zipline stated that the platform was designed for approximately ten-mile delivery trips in around ten minutes, subject to operational conditions, and announced initial planned users including Sweetgreen, Michigan Medicine and the Government of Rwanda.

The main aircraft remains more than 300 feet above the destination while a smaller delivery droid descends on a tether and manoeuvres to a precise drop-off point. Zipline specifies a ten-mile service radius carrying six to eight pounds, with a separate one-way dock-to-dock range of 24 miles. The design allows delivery to small residential spaces without landing the aircraft beside the recipient.

Zipline planned more than 10,000 test flights using approximately 100 aircraft during 2023 before its first customer deployment. Announced prospective users included Sweetgreen, Michigan Medicine, Intermountain Health, MultiCare and Rwanda. Its earlier Platform 1 system had already completed more than 500,000 flights and 40 million commercial miles, using parachute drops for medical and other deliveries.