A select number of restaurants in London working with Just Eat - yet to be revealed - will start sending out food deliveries with self-driving delivery robots in the next few months.
The robots, created by Starship Technologies, are designed to deliver food, packages and goods to customers within a short radius of their point of origin. Customers are sent a secure code to access their meals from the robots once they arrive.
Fernando Fanton, chief product & technology officer at Just Eat said: “We’ve always been committed to offering our customers new ways to order and pay for their food and now we’re right at the heart of a new way of delivering food which is as exciting for us as it will be for those who find a robot on their doorstep.”
Starship Technologies, established in 2014 by the co-founders of Skype, created the robots to drive autonomously while being monitored by human operators in control centres. They use cameras and sensors to navigate their way along streets to their destination.
Similar trials will be taking place in Germany and Switzerland with delivery firm Hermes and retailer Metro Group.
David Buttress, CEO of Just Eat said: “As soon as we met the Starship team, we found their passion for their product infectious. With scalable innovation at the core of their business, they are the perfect partner for us at Just Eat as we continuously look for sustainable ways to use technology to make our customers’ and restaurant partners lives easier. We can’t wait to bring the delivery robots to local high streets very soon.”
The news comes as Edwardian Hotels launched its first robot concierge and InterContinental Hotel Group looks to roll out its robot server at Crowne Plaza.