Drone delivers package in Nev.

Associated Press

RENO, Nev.

A drone has successfully delivered a package to a residential location in a small Nevada town in what its maker and the governor of the state said Friday was the first fully autonomous urban drone delivery in the U.S.

Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeney said the six-rotor drone flew about a half-mile along a pre-programmed delivery route March 10 and lowered the package outside a vacant residence in an uninhabited area of Hawthorne, southeast of Reno.

The route was established using GPS. A pilot and visual observers were on standby during the flight but weren’t needed, Sweeney said.

He said the package included bottled water, food and a first-aid kit.

“Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban setting is a major achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make regular deliveries to your front doorstep,” Sweeney said.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval congratulated the company “on successfully completing the nation’s first fully autonomous urban package delivery.”

“I am thrilled that Flirtey is not only testing its cutting-edge technology in Nevada, but also creating jobs through its headquarters relocation to Reno,” Sandoval said in a statement.

NASA is working with the drone industry and the Federal Aviation Administration on a low-altitude air-traffic control system to prevent crashes involving drones and other low-altitude aircraft.

Flirtey conducted the first FAA-approved, rural drone delivery in July to a rural health care clinic in Virginia.

The Nevada delivery demonstrates that advanced drone systems allow aerial vehicles to safely navigate around buildings and deliver packages with precision within a populated area, Sweeney said.