Just Eat UK has launched a trial of advanced four-legged delivery robots designed to navigate challenging urban landscapes, including stairs. This campaign involves ten individual restaurants across Milton Keynes and Bristol. It’s the largest leap forward in autonomous delivery technology yet.
RIVR created robots with omni wheels on each foot. These pioneering prototypes allow them to ascend stairs and traverse dense urban landscapes with ease. In Milton Keynes, the trial involves two local businesses: 12th Street Burgers & Shakes and Moores Fish & Chips. In the meantime, Bristol is home to eight restaurants taking part, with names like Jolly Fryer, Chicken Mews and Bishopston Fish Bar.
RIVR’s chief executive Marko Bjelonic said, “It represents an important step in scaling autonomous delivery across European cities.”
The robots showcased what they could do in earlier competitions. In a separate and approximate pilot run in Switzerland, they completed close to 1,000 autonomous deliveries successfully. This success story puts another feather in the caps of these robots and highlights their potential to change the delivery landscape in big cities.
In the trial, the robots are decked out with an orange Just Eat box on their back. This insulated box, strapped to the back of these delivery tools, is a restaurant’s best defense against an order gone wrong. Their stairs-hopping, bump-jumping prowess pairs perfectly with the short, urban nature of the shocks that city life tends to dish out.
In addition to the robot trials in the UK, Just Eat UK is exploring other delivery innovations, including testing drones in Ireland. Together, these drone and robot technologies show a strong trend towards making delivery more efficient and accessible.
These current trials are a huge step in seeing robotic solutions integrated into daily life. If they’re successful, they might just open the door toward the widespread adoption of autonomous delivery systems in other European cities.