Courtesy of Zipline
Homeowners, primarily from the neighborhood surrounding Forest Meadow Middle School, expressed frustration Wednesday night about Walmart’s increasing use of drones to deliver purchases. Representatives from the retailer and from Zipline, the drone company which executes the deliveries, were on hand to answer questions and explain the technology and procedures involved.
Zipline was founded in 2014 and did life-saving work in Africa, delivering blood, vaccines and other critical needs. They now complete 2.5 million commercial deliveries per year with zero safety incidents, Head of Community Engagement Zach Hill said.
“We’re creating access to foods for folks in the community,” said Hill. “We hear from a lot of people who don’t have a car, who have mobility challenges. We hear from a lot of single moms with kids that being able to order something from Zipline and get it in a timely manner without having to load the kids up in the car has been a game changer for them. We also have been able to get the service back up online when the roads were frozen over during the ice storm. We heard from customers directly that this enabled them and their families to stay safe at home while conditions were not safe and not putting themselves and others in danger. We hope to create a marketplace, not just with our partners at Walmart, but also our healthcare partners and some of the local businesses that you all know and love — those local, family-owned restaurants. The goal is to be able to serve the entire community, to help you get the things you need in a timely manner and really kind of create a marketplace for you all.”
Zipline’s Head of Systems Eric Watson said the company is determined to listen to neighbor complaints and make improvements to create less noise. Since they started delivering from the store at Forest and Abrams, they began flying with only one of five motors, increased their typical altitude to 330 feet and removed noisier aircraft from the fleet. Planned actions include introducing third generation aircraft which reduce overhead noise by 30%, increasing altitude to 400 feet and other steps.
Walmart drone meeting
Based on comments and applause, folks who opted to attend the meeting were overwhelmingly anti-drone. They expressed concern that cameras onboard could peek into their backyards, they fretted about the environment and the disruption of wildlife, and they worried that a technology failure could send aircraft crashing into the yard or pool where children were at play. Mostly, though, they asked about the constant irritating hum, likely only to increase as more customers — and more retailers — adopt the technology.
Brenda Westbrook lives less than a mile from Walmart and typically spends about $1,000 per month on groceries and other goods there. She said she’s shopping elsewhere these days because she’s lost the privacy of her own backyard.
“Change your flight pattern,” she said. “Go down busy thoroughfares until you get to your destination and turn into the neighborhood. Don’t fly over my backyard and my pool area constantly back and forth. It is noisy. When they pass over my house, they’re (flying low and) gaining elevation, and it’s extremely noisy.”
“I remember when you guys were in Africa doing great work out there,” said Timothy Chamberlin, “but you fly over my house all day long. I’ve got a beautiful garden in my backyard. I built it up to dull the noise from 635, but now I have noise bombarding me from above. I don’t even want to go into my backyard. My plants are dying.”
Jean Bono noted that some families are ordering one item or two “just to entertain their kids,” and asked if a plan was afoot to begin charging for drone delivery.
“The service is really new,” Hill explained, “and in an effort to create as much accessibility as possible for folks who need to use the service, there wasn’t a delivery fee. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be one in the future.”
When asked about security, Watson explained that onboard cameras are not sharing “live feeds” but are instead used for positioning and obstacle avoidance. The camera comes on only when the drone is hovering and ready to deliver, he said, and recordings are used only for training purposes.
“This is one of the worst ideas that I’ve ever heard in my life,” said Michael Thomas, who predicted the number of drones and packages will multiply exponentially in the near future. “We live in this neighborhood because we love our trees. We love nature. We’ve got blue skies. You are taking that away from us. That’s something that cannot be replaced. It doesn’t have a dollar value. We are also the center for migratory birds in the U.S., millions of birds — three months in the spring and three months in the fall — coming directly through our neighborhood. We have birds of prey, owls, hawks, all kinds of other birds nesting in our neighborhood, and these drones have been shown to cause a problem for them.”
One young woman described herself as having a split personality on the issue. She lives in a heavily trafficked flight area and is bothered by the ever-present buzz, but she loves the convenience of ordering.
“I live right by Forest Meadow, and I’m out in my backyard constantly. I’ve got a young child at home, and it’s incredibly beneficial to be able to order something and get food or whatever small thing we’re missing. I use it, and I hate it. I’d like to go to my backyard and not hear it every five minutes.”
She did notice a positive change since Zipline made multiple adjustments over the past few months.
Michele Brockette expressed appreciation for Zipline engineers working to reduce noise in the neighborhood and for listening to community complaints.
“I agree that I’ve noticed we have less noise, and I feel bad that I think you guys are taking a lot of the frustration,” she said. “Do (people) need this for just three things, or can they drive over? Are there other ways to be doing this?”
Walmart and Zipline reps promised to continue listening.
Walmart is at 9301 Forest Lane.
