Pie in the sky: Chinese authorities shoot down world's first cake drones
The authorities in Shanghai have shot down the world's first cake drones, deployed by a bakery to whizz pies through the sky.
The Incake bakery's promotional video shows a cake drone making its way across the city to deliver a torte to an excited little girl. Photo: INCAKE
By Malcolm Moore, in Beijing
2:53PM BST 27 Jul 2013
The Incake bakery bought three Chinese mini-drones, six-rotor helicopters, and tweaked them to carry its cakes to customers from its main branch on the outskirts of the city.
The remote-controlled drones, which are around three-and-a-half feet wide and weigh 22lb, had a range of a few miles and were mounted with twin cameras to identify their customers.
During one flight last week, a cake drone swerved past skyscrapers facing Shanghai’s Bund before crossing the Huangpu river and delivering its payload of patisserie.
As the drone crossed the river, however, it caught the attention of tourists. “What if a cake fell on a passer-by from the sky?” worried one internet commentator, according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper.
Incake describes itself as a high-class modern baker and only accepts orders for its £200 cakes online. Its offerings, according to its website, are devised by a “British top-class cake master”, named only as “Mr Vincent”.
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Men Ruifeng, the company’s marketing manager, said drone delivery was intended to make a special moment even more memorable.
It did not take long, however, for local civil aviation authorities to ground Incake’s fleet. Unmanned aircraft have to be approved before they can be used for business, an unnamed official told the Shanghai Daily.
Incake has now said it will suspend its service until it gets permits from the police and the civil aviation authority.
