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R_mashable.com_business 2015 00119.txt.txt

#Report: Walmart could start using drones to start delivering things to your house Amazon and Walmart have been jockeying for position in the battle to be the number one U s. retailer. Now it looks like they'll take that battle to the skies as Walmart joins the online retailer in a quest to use a legion of drones for product deliveries and pickups. According to Reuters, which saw a copy of a Walmart's Federal aviation administration application for drone use. The application would allow Walmart to use drones at its warehouses and around customershomes and the reports suggests the giant retailer is ready to start flying drones as soon as the FAA settles on its new rules for commercial drone use. Earlier this month, the FAA unveiled a new set of rules for private drone use that include registering many of the drones with the FAA before consumers start flying them. For commercial drones, which could be used in everything from filming movies to delivering groceries, the FAA has been considering some line-of-sight provisions that could make it virtually impossible for Amazon and now Walmart to use drones in home deliveries. According to the report Walmart plans to use drones from DJI to monitor inventories outside their warehouses, deliver packages to customers, many of whom live within five miles of their local Walmart, and to deliver groceries to pick up locations for customers. DJI is one of the most popular drone makers on the market, with a line of Phantom drones, including the Phantom 3 Standard, which Mashable recently test drove (or flew).""Drones have a lot of potential to further connect our vast network of stores, distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation fleet, "Walmart spokesperson Dan Toporek told Reuters. Of course, no one not Amazon and not Walmart is delivering anything by drone until the FAA finalizes its commercial plans, something that won't happen until next year, at the earliest. That's way late for your last-minute Christmas shopping plans, which could reasonably be assisted by drone deliveries. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments o

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