Walmart wants to start testing drones for deliveries

A delivery drone prototype.
(Image credit: Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty Images)

Walmart asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Monday for a waiver to test drones outside, with the hope that one day, the company will be able to deliver products to consumers at home.

The world's largest retailer is joining the ranks of Amazon and Google, who both have already tested drones for delivery purposes and say a possible launch date is still several years in the future. Walmart's filing says that the company has already conducted drone testing inside, where it doesn't need government approval, and it also wants to use drones to help with inventory at distribution centers.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.