Food bank deliveries using drones and autonomous vehicles begin in Arlington

High winds couldn’t stop Arlington’s new food delivery drones — or the city’s ambitions to become a transportation innovation hub — from taking off Wednesday.

Standing next to a four-wheeled electric delivery robot and a 6-foot-long drone, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross celebrated the launch of a new pilot program that will bring packages from the Tarrant Area Food Bank to customers in east Arlington over the next year.

“Arlington continues to lead the way in innovative approaches to transporting people and goods so we can improve access and mobility for all our residents,” said Ross. “This is cool stuff, and I love being in a city that likes to find fun things to do. And these are cool things that will benefit our residents who need products most in their homes and in our community.”

With the help of nearly $800,000 in federal grants, city and food bank staff are working with Estonian self-driving vehicle manufacturer Clevon, drone delivery company Aerialoop and drone software provider Airspace Link to test whether autonomous electric vehicles can be used to deliver fresh food supplies to residents. Clevon’s U.S. headquarters are located at Alliance Airport in north Fort Worth.

The University of Texas at Arlington and the North Central Texas Council of Government are also partners in the project, which will cost a total of approximately $1.6 million.

Starting in September, officials expect to deliver 300 boxes of food using Clevon’s delivery robot, which can reach speeds of 20 mph and hold six packages, and Aerialoop’s ALT6-4 VTOL Delivery Drone, which can carry nearly 10 pounds.

People tend to think of urban drone delivery as a decade away, says Santiago Barrera, Aerialoop’s chief operating officer.

“I like to start my conversations with the words, ‘The future is today,’” Barrera said. “Everyone in this room, all of us, we’re going to look back on this and say, ‘We were there. We were in the center of where it all started. ”

Arlington was one of 45 grant recipients selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation is one of the largest sources of emissions, such as carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming.

Partners chose to try deliveries in east Arlington because of the large number of existing food bank clients there, city transportation planning and programming manager Ann Foss previously told the report.

Stephen Raeside, the food bank’s head of external affairs, said the project highlights a serious problem in the city of almost 400,000 people. One in four children in Arlington reported feeling hungry in the past year, as did one in six adults.

Arlington officials rose to the challenge of feeding hungry families during the COVID-19 pandemic by hosting large-scale food distribution events at AT&T Stadium, Raeside said. The pandemic also forced the food bank to tackle what Raeside calls “last mile delivery,” which ensures people with disabilities or without reliable transportation can get necessary food items to their homes.

“We had a population of thousands of people stuck at home, so they could watch tens of thousands of cars on TV at AT&T Stadium, but they couldn’t get there,” he said. “We spent a lot of time exploring those last mile options, and that’s what makes this project so exciting.”

In addition to showcasing the technology at two events on May 8, Arlington officials are also asking residents to share their thoughts on the use of drones and delivery robots through an online survey.

After conducting implementation demonstrations this fall and next spring, the project partners will prepare a final report to the federal government. The findings include a cost-benefit analysis, community responses and the estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the use of electric delivery. Lessons learned will be shared broadly with other cities interested in rolling out similar delivery methods, Ross said.

Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Government, said the project isn’t just about emissions targets or technological innovation. It’s about improving the quality of life for people in need.

“You have the best and brightest people within the university improving technology, and you have the community members reminding us of our duty as human beings to … develop solutions for all of our residents,” Morris said. “The energy efficiency and air quality are just a huge bonus.”

Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at [email protected].

The Fort Worth Report makes news decisions independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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