Dominos are set to trial robotic food delivery

Dominos is one of the most innovative pizza companies in the world, which has helped them amass a staggering number of followers and helped build the franchise to what it is today. The company’s embrace of new technologies and innovations will now see them delve into the use of robotics, where they now aim to undertake robot pizza delivery.

Set to be trialled this year in Germany, the company has collaborated with UK based Starship Technologies to create self-driving delivery robots. Starship has also partnered with UK based Just Eat, Swiss Post and Hermes Parcel Delivery Service, alongside US companies Postmates and DoorDash to promote the use of self-driving delivery robotics within the fast-food industry.

To ensure a successful outcome, Dominos has created a group within the company’s operations, Domino’s Robotics Division, to oversee overall responsibility of the project, alongside the company’s use of drones in a collaboration with US based company Flirtey. The self-driving robots can move seamlessly through the use of six wheels and can operate at four miles per hour, holding a weight of up to 40lbs.

Domino’s Group CEO and Managing Director Don Meij informed Venture Beat: “We are a global company and we are eager to progress innovative technology in all of the countries in which we operate –– we are very excited to be partnering with Starship as it brings regular deliveries by robot one step closer to commercial operations. With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won’t have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this.”

At a limit of a one mile radius, the food will take around 30 minutes to arrive safely. The robots will have inbuilt GPS systems and sensors to enable them to move between parked cars, curbs, puddles and other obstacles. Users will then receive a notification message and a key code to access the contents of the robot upon arrival.