The drone that drops lunch on your desk

27 March 2018

Midday meals delivered to work by drones

India’s dabbawala network of food-carrying couriers has existed since the 1800s – but drone deliveries could provide a new way to grab lunch, in India and elsewhere.

Office workers worldwide are all well-acquainted with the lunchtime woes of boring leftovers, crowded nearby delis, or slow delivery people. Could drones could erase such logistical snags?

Global pizza chain Domino’s test-flew a pizza-toting drone in New Zealand a couple years ago, but smaller businesses also want in, including a pizza eatery in Mumbai, which made its first delivery by unmanned aerial vehicle in 2014. Such a sci-fi service could be especially impactful in India, which has run a lunchbox delivery and pickup system since the late 1800s.

Suranjana Tewari reports on the tech test that could give Indian professionals a new, futuristic way of eating their mid-day meal.

To comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, please head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.