Uber Eats Plans to Scale Food Delivery using Robots in North America

Over the past year, Serve Robotics wheeled robots, created with the support of Uber, have been delivering takeaway food and groceries to customers in the Los Angeles area. Yesterday, the company announced that up to 2,000 such robots will be used in other cities in North America.

According to Serve Robotics, more than 200 restaurants are currently participating in a pilot project in Los Angeles. In addition, it is reported that these autonomous robots moving along sidewalks have "completed tens of thousands of deliveries" since the founding of Serve in 2017.

As part of the announced expansion, it is planned to use up to 2,000 Uber Eats bots in cities of the USA and Canada. Currently, Serve is working with industry partners and municipal authorities in various regions. According to some sources, the list of possible cities includes San Jose, Vancouver and Dallas.

Each four-wheeled robot can operate during the day on a single battery charge, carrying up to 23 kg of cargo at a maximum speed of 11 km/h. Its cargo compartment can only be unlocked by a corporate customer or a customer who has made an order using a mobile application. It is noted that these robots are of the fourth level of autonomy.

"Level 4 is when no human intervention is required in pre-defined areas," explains Ali Kashani, co-founder/CEO of Serve Robotics. - This is achieved with the help of many advanced AI capabilities that help our robots navigate cities. AI helps robots determine which surface to move on, find the fastest and safest route, detect and identify people and cars, and even determine the risk of collision with cars when drivers are inattentive at intersections."

The expansion is planned mainly in 2024, but the first robots will begin delivering in the fourth quarter of this year.