The next time you order a meal on Uber Eats, it might be delivered by a robot – at least if you live in Miami.
Starting Thursday, some Miami residents can request that their Uber Eats delivery be delivered via autonomous robots that walk the sidewalks, thanks to a new partnership between the ride-hailing company and robotics company Cartken. .
U.S. company Uber Technologies Inc and driverless technology maker Motional said on Wednesday they had launched their public robotaxi service in Las Vegas.
With the new service, customers will be alerted when their food is on its way and instructed to meet the remotely supervised robot on the sidewalk, according to screenshots of the app shared with the company. CNN by Uber.
Customers can unlock the vehicle using their phone and pick up their order from a secure compartment. Customers can also cancel if they prefer to have their items delivered by courier.
Cartken’s six-wheeled robots are equipped with various sensors and cameras to help them avoid collisions and choose less dangerous routes, according to their website. Delivery robots can operate both indoors and outdoors.
The food delivery option will initially be available in the Dadeland area of Miami-Dade County, with plans to expand across the county and into other cities in the coming year.
The announcement is the latest example of Uber partnering with outside companies to deliver the kind of futuristic, automated technologies that were once part of its pitch to investors and the public.
Uber also recently partnered with Motional, a driverless tech company, to offer self-driving vehicles in Las Vegas. The changes come two years after Uber sold its self-driving car unit amid financial and legal pressures.
In a statement on Thursday, Noah Zych, Uber’s global head of mobility and autonomous delivery, called the latest collaboration with Cartken “another important milestone for our efforts in automated and autonomous technology.”
Through these partnerships, Uber may be trying to move away from being so reliant on its vast fleet of independent contractors who pick up passengers and deliver meals — a business model that has raised legal questions for the company in recent years.
Christian Bersch, co-founder and CEO of Cartken, shared some of the benefits of the new partnership, including how it can help communities by reducing traffic congestion and allowing local merchants to increase delivery capacity through emissions-free delivery options.
In June, Cartken partnered with Grubhub to bring robot deliveries to select college campuses across the United States. The company’s partnership with Uber marks its first with an on-demand delivery app outside of college campuses.
Source: CNN Brasil
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