The Urban Drone Invasion is Nigh

Good news, humanity: Your favorite Slurpee is now closer than ever to being dumped in your lap by a flying robot. The first regular drone delivery experiment in the U.S. wrapped up last month in Reno, Nevada, where 77 customers of 7-Eleven had orders for food, drinks, and over-the-counter medications successfully airlifted via a small drone, reports Recode.

It’s a large leap forward since last December, when the Federal Aviation Administration announced a new online drone registry, where all owners of unmanned aerial vehicles (or UAVs) weighing 0.55 pounds or more would have to register their drones, regardless of whether they planned to fly them for profit or for fun. More than 550,000 drones have been registered, according to FAA tallies from September. And since August, when rules mandating commercial drone operators get a pilot certificate and pass a TSA background check went into effect, the FAA has issued almost 23,000 licenses to commercial drone pilots