The Future of Fast Online Delivery, From Drones to Robots Carrying Takeout

Tech companies, retailers and real-estate firms working on ways to alleviate the strain of constant delivery on urban environments envision an alternate scenario: skies filled with zipping delivery drones and floating dirigible warehouses, streets and sidewalks teeming with as many robots as people, familiar storefronts serving as automated stockrooms for online fulfillment. A look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play. The e-commerce process, from order to fulfillment, will gradually move toward total automation, says David Wilson, chief executive of machinery company Columbus McKinnon, which uses robotic components in warehouse lifting equipment. "The vehicle that pulls up is an autonomously driven vehicle. The unpacking is done with vision technology and robotic equipment. The movement of equipment to automated storage and retrieval systems is done via mobile robots," Mr. Wilson says, describing the warehouse of the future.