Air-delivered freshly pressed laundry might sound like an extravagance — but that’s exactly what patrons of a local laundromat are being treated to in Philly.
Manayunk Cleaners on Main Street has taken to delivering laundered clothes via drone in a novelty promotion to attract young customers.
Owner Harout Vartanian, 24, told NBC News he converted a DJI Phantom quadracopter, built for taking aerial photos into a flying delivery service with the help of a makeshift hanging clip.
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“We fly it to your house, it makes a noise, you pick it up and that’s that,” Vartanian told NBC.
“We posted a video to YouTube and it went viral. And ever since then, people have been asking ‘Hey, can you deliver my clothes by drone?’”
“I’m all about technology and I see a lot of these cleaners, it’s so old school. You come in…and you just pick it up. I needed to spice things up.”
But while the drone had heads turning and people talking in the streets, it’s not as practical or easy as hoped. The drone can only carry two shirts a relatively short distance and needs a pilot and spotter to make a delivery.
Still, Vartanian hopes to eventually engage a fleet of drones, which will deliver to every Manayunk customer.
“There’s a higher-end model that we haven’t purchased yet, but obviously in the future that’s what we’re going to use. It carries around 5-10 pounds,” Vartanian said.
The drone, Vartanian says, does not come under FAA guidelines restricting drone use because it is “just a toy.”
“It’s amazing. It’s something new, it’s definitely a step towards the future.”