Zipline's newest drone delivery system launched this week at a Walmart store near Dallas. Photos: Courtesy of Zipline
Walmart's newest delivery service, which launched this week at a superstore in Mesquite, Texas, marks the debut of a sophisticated pair of mother-baby drones from Zipline.
How it works: An employee places the customer's order inside the baby drone, called the Delivery Zip, which is about the size of a small cooler.
The Delivery Zip is then lifted automatically into the belly of the larger mother Zip, which takes off from a free-standing charging dock in the Walmart parking lot.
At the destination, the aircraft hovers silently at 300 feet while the Delivery Zip is lowered by a tether, using sensors and fans to autonomously stick its high-precision landing.
It's a technological leap over Zipline's original system, which drops packages via parachute.
