After burger-flipping machines debuted in California restaurants earlier this month, food-delivery robots are now ready to serve at people’s doorsteps.
Robot burger-flipper starts first day on the job in California restaurant
Customers looking for their daily dose of take-outs will have a glimpse of the future, as several “delivery robots” started cruising the streets of San Francisco, California, in the US earlier this week.
The project was made possible by a partnership between courier service Postmates, restaurant delivery DoorDash and robotic service developer Starship Technologies, Fortune reported.
The semi-autonomous machines were tested for months prior to being officially released. Six fully functioning robots now deliver customers’ orders.
However, the robots are still not equipped to travel far destinations, as deliveries are limited to distances of between one and two miles.
“We’ve found that the robots are better suited to the smaller, short-distance orders that Dashers often avoid, thereby freeing up Dashers to fulfil the bigger and more complex deliveries that often result in more money for them,” DoorDash co-founder and chief product officer Stanley Tang was quoted as saying in the report.
The company executive added that they were looking to expand their services all over the US in the coming months.
A similar courier called “Yelp/Eat24 Delivery Robot” was also spotted in the San Francisco area this week. Khristian Ibarrola /ra
A @Yelp / @Eat24 delivery robot is doing a photo shoot in the mission pic.twitter.com/z4Dd2UJxh9
— Ryan Lawler (@ryanlawler) March 17, 2017
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