Wing and Papa Johns announced a partnership to develop a pilot program for autonomous drone food deliveries in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of a strategy focused on logistics automation and AI-powered commerce.

The pilot will allow select customers to order Papa Johns products, including a line of oven-toasted sandwiches, initially using the Wing app. The companies indicated that in future phases they plan to directly integrate the autonomous delivery system with the Papa Johns app and with “Lou AI,” the company’s digital ordering assistant built on Google Cloud infrastructure.

According to both companies, the collaboration aims to explore new capabilities for rapid food delivery using autonomous drone networks, including operational challenges related to packaging, weight distribution, aerodynamic design, and logistical efficiency for air transport of hot food.

Wing noted that this represents its first direct collaboration with a national restaurant chain in the United States, thus expanding the commercial use of its autonomous delivery systems. The Alphabet-owned company already operates drone delivery programs in various markets, using autonomous electric aircraft for short-haul deliveries.

The pilot program began in the Sun Valley Commons area of Indian Trail, North Carolina, where eligible customers will initially be able to access deliveries through the Wing app.

The partnership reflects the growing interest from the quick-service restaurant (QSR) sector and technology companies in automated delivery models, as regulations, infrastructure, and commercial operations for delivery drones continue to develop in the United States.

Source: Wing