You’ve probably been hearing a lot lately about the drone delivery service that’s supposed to be coming to UCD.

Drones are going to be flying all over the dual carriageway. There’s going to be really quick fast food deliveries. The robots are taking over. Stuff like that. But you’ve probably not heard much in the way of details. How does it work? Who’s doing this? Why? How much will it cost? Why? How are the drones even able to do this properly? And, most importantly, what can I get to eat with this? I’m hungry. I want food. Food in my tummy.

Who in God’s good name is doing this?

A company called Manna is operating the whole thing. Manna is actually an Irish company, which was founded by Bobby Healy, and you probably didn’t know, but they are one of the world’s leaders in drone delivery technology. They’ve been quietly building their business, what Bobby calls “drone delivery as a service,” since 2018, and so far have accumulated over €6 million in investments to fund the development and rollout of highly advanced drones. Forbes has written about them. They are kind of a big deal. These aren’t the kind of drone your spoiled cousin got for Christmas a couple of years ago. These are advanced autonomous robots. Until now, Manna has only been working as a Business-to-Business enterprise, but this is the first time they will be offering their services directly to consumers.

How does it work?

When you order food, you will simply be given the option of “Drone Delivery.” When your food is cooked, they slap it into a drone, and it flies to you at a speed of 80km/h, at a height of 80 meters above the ground. When it arrives, you get a notification. The drone finds a nice open spot outside, descends carefully using a LIDAR system to a height of about 10 meters, and then the food is lowered down to you on a special biodegradable linen string. According to Manna, the deliveries will take a maximum of three minutes. Three minutes. That’s less time than it takes to choose between Singapore Noodles and Crispy Chilli Beef.

But wait, what about my side-hustle as a delivery driver?

Sorry, man. The robots are taking over.

How much does it cost?

According to Manna, it’ll cost less than your standard delivery charge with companies like Deliveroo, JustEat, and UberEats. They say the average cost of food delivery in Ireland is around €5, but that when their drone delivery service comes online, it will cost a fraction of that. That means it’s cheaper, it’s quicker, and it’s done by a robot. That’s pretty cool. That’s a win-win-win.

What if the weather is shite? The weather’s always shite.

The weather is always shite, but Manna thought of that. Their drones have been specially developed to aerospace engineering standards, so they can handle Irish weather. They can also handle attempts at being knocked out of the sky, they can handle engine failures, and they even have parachutes that deploy when it begins to fall, so that it lands without injuring anyone or smashing the windscreen of your mum’s car that you borrowed without asking while she’s on holidays.

It’s a really weird thing to say, but these are very advanced robots that will be delivering your takeaway.

Why UCD? Not that I’m complaining…

The UCD campus is in fact the perfect place for a delivery service like this, because it has wide-open spaces. Manna plans for their drone delivery service to be rolled out across the country, to suburban and rural areas within range of restaurants. It’s difficult for the drones to deliver to big apartment buildings in the city centre, but very easy for them to deliver to a suburban house with a back garden.

So wait, I can still do my side-hustle in the city centre?

Yeah, man. The robots are taking over, but there’s still the need for delivery people in built up areas.

So are there just going to be drones flying all over the place now?

Yeah, but it’s not a bad thing. Manna thinks this kind of service will reduce a lot of the traffic in the city. Also, the drones are being kept to some fairly strict standards when it comes to safety, noise, pollution, and privacy. The government is all over it.

What food can I get? I’m hungry, remember?

Manna have partnered up with JustEat, Camile Thai Kitchen, and Ben & Jerry’s. Pretty soon you be able to get your Mekong Duck, Wasabi Peas, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream delivered via autonomous drone. It’s 2020. We’re living in the future.

That’s crazy.

I know.

Mad, like.

Yeah.

So when can I start ordering food? I’m hungry.

The service is set to become available at the end of April, but Manna has not set a specific date. In any case, it’s probably better to eat now, instead of waiting.

That’s soon. I thought is was way off...

Yeah. It’s official. Autonomous drones are going to be delivering Thai food and ice cream to UCD students inside of a month. It’s wild, and on the face of it, a bit bonkers. You wonder if it makes sense at all. But once you know the details, it does make sense. It’s cheap, environmentally friendly, reduces traffic, and get the food in your tummy quickly. And it’s also pretty cool that UCD students are going to be the first in Ireland to eat drone-delivered Ben & Jerry’s from the future.

Take that, Trinity.