It is probably widely-known that Amazon is interested in drones to help with their deliveries. Now it seems that Walmart is also interested in drones, but not so much to compete with the likes of DJI, but rather they appear to be following in the footsteps of Amazon and will use these drones for product delivery as well as for checking inventory.This was revealed by Walmart’s VP of Emerging Sciences Shekar Natarajan, who demonstrated the technology to reports from one of the company’s distribution centers. According to Natarajan, these drones will be used to replace the jobs of inventory quality assurance employees. Apparently these drones will be so efficient that inventory checks can be completed in a single day where previously it would take a month.
The company had also last year filed to US regulators to allow them to use drones for home delivery and curbside pickup, so it looks like these drones will serve a multitude of purposes. According to Natarajan, “We are still in early phases of testing and understanding how drones can be better used in different types of business functions.”
However it seems that it will be a while before these drones are fully deployed in their warehouses. The company estimates that it will take 6-9 months before they will be used.