back to article Google hover-drones to drop burritos on campus

It sounds like the plot of a half-baked stoner movie screenplay, but it's actually happening: Google boss company Alphabet and Mexican food chain Chipotle have become the flying burrito brothers under a delivery-by-drone plan that will first target the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Drones will hover above customers, who will need to thrust their hands into the sky to retrieve the burritos as they descend on the end of a winched tether."

    And besides the munchables, they get a pet drone on a leash.

    That is a very good prize.

    1. Haku
      Thumb Up

      Re: "pet drone on a leash"

      Oh I've so got to try that with one my of little quads.

    2. Mark 85

      Very true.. one sharp pull on the winch cable and the drone is your pet.

      There is the question though of how will you know who actually ordered and paid for the burrito?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You could also print out really rude messages on a bit of silk for some free skywriting on the way back.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. MatsSvensson

    Damn millennials, I cant keep up!

    What is "drop a burrito" code for ...?

    1. Haku

      Don't be too hard on those damn millennials, after all, their first experience of Star Wars on the big screen was Episode One...

      1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

        "Don't be too hard on those damn millennials, after all, their first experience of Star Wars on the big screen was Episode One..."

        Good point.

    2. Eddy Ito

      If I recall correctly it's the equivalent of 'drop a deuce', 'lay some cable', 'pinch off a loaf', 'back one out', 'feed the sewer gator', 'lay a brick', and depending on the burrito 'mud butt fire storm'. I'm sure there are lots of others but these are what I can recall from when I was a millennial's age.

  4. Nya
    Pint

    Why can I see this being of more use after a few jars one night to harass other students/teachers by chasing them down with sky born mexican drop offs.

    1. MrDamage Silver badge

      build a dome

      Don't worry. Drumpf will build a dome on top of his wall to prevent aforementioned Mexican dropoffs.

  5. chivo243 Silver badge
    Coat

    Fail and no buts about it

    As someone who delivered pizzas etc in college, this will fail miserably. How will the drone know he's delivered the payload to the person who is expecting it? Is the an IoT app for this tom foolery?

    Cue complaints: Hey you dropped my burrito from 50m, now it's a quesadilla!

    Yes, my coat, the one with the Chipotle menu in the pocket.

    1. Graham Marsden

      Re: Fail and no buts about it

      Thinking about the problem, I'd have a camera installed on the drone and the purchaser's phone would need to flash a coded signal before delivery would be made.

  6. Little Mouse

    That's a job I'd enjoy

    I'd dangle those burritos just out of reach...

    Jump, students! Dance!

  7. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

    At last, new targets!

    Clay pigeon shooting *does* get boring after a while..

    :)

  8. You aint sin me, roit
    Black Helicopters

    Feasibility Study?

    Haven't they seen the videos of drones delivering "snacks" to prison cells?

    (Black ops chopper, obvs)

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Many comments

    Surely they'll have a break-away connector on the cable such that you can't just reel the drone in. Or, maybe an emergency cut-away. Given that the burritos are only going to weigh a few ounces, even a bit of one or two pound mono-filament Nylon fishing line would probably be adequate, and cheap to replace.

    As for the clay pigeon shooting, hey, what's better than shooting something out of the sky that you can eat afterwards?

    Hmm, "Drop a burrito"; isn't that something you do in the restroom? ;-)

    I'm sure they could probably increase the cool factor by streamlining the drone. Rather than your typical quad-copter, use one that looks like a B-17, and bomb the students with the burrito. You could probably get thousands of "gamers" to be drone operators in a scenario like this. Hmm, might not work so well in certain countries, though.

    Anon Y. Mus

    P.S. I'll get my coat. It's the one with the instructions for operating the Norden bomb sight in the pocket.

  10. wx666z
    Thumb Up

    Flying Burrito Brothers

    Brought back some great memories!

    Thanks

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Keeping food warm in the air

    Well I presume they will be wrapped in the same foil that burritos you buy the old fashioned way are, so I don't see why keeping them warm should be a problem. The problem will be that it is a lot less efficient to take a minute per delivery (and that's being optimistic) when you can serve many times that number of walk up customers.

    This is a ridiculous gimmick of no practical value whatsoever. Yeah it'd be fun - I'm sure I'd order one that way once just for the hell of it. But next time I'd go to the food truck and get one much more quickly.

    1. Captain DaFt

      Re: Keeping food warm in the air

      "But next time I'd go to the food truck and get one much more quickly."

      Yeah, and that could be even more convenient!

      Didn't one of Trump's supporters promise us that, if Hillary was elected, there'd be a taco truck on every corner?*

      They usually sell burritos too!

      *Why, yes, he did!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Keeping food warm in the air

        > "Didn't one of Trump's supporters promise us..."

        You mean one of Trump's latino supporters? Just how big a racist are you?

  12. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Just wait until the first law student gets hit by a burrito or a drone...

  13. herman

    Burritos...

    That sounds like biological warfare.

  14. cortland

    Ai, chihuahua! (look it up)(clue: Look HARD)

    On every corner -- and over head too! Tacoheads RULE.

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