Just Eat UK is currently trialing a new fleet of four-legged delivery robots across two cities, Milton Keynes and Bristol. This new initiative, including ten independent restaurants, is one of the largest pushes yet toward expanding autonomous delivery services in urban areas. The robots are designed to climb stairs and achieve other great feats. Now, they’re being tested in real city environments to gauge just how effective and practical they actually are.
In Milton Keynes, some of the local favorites are signing up for the trial. Indulge your appetite for good food from 12th Street Burgers & Shakes and Moores Fish & Chips! On the other hand, Bristol is home to eight chippy-style restaurants, such as Jolly Fryer, Chicken Mews, and Bishopston Fish Bar. The robots are identifiable thanks to an orange Just Eat box mounted on their backs — their delivery compartment.
These futuristic, four-legged robots are one of the most recognizable designs of their kind. This enables them to subdue all sorts of urban obstacles, even staircases. This trial will determine if this advanced technology can succeed in crowded urban environments. This is where traditional methods of delivery tend to fail, so identifying the right solution is key.
Just Eat UK has now teamed up with RIVR—the company that designed and built these sophisticated robots. Marko Bjelonic, chief executive of RIVR, expressed optimism regarding the partnership and its potential impact on the future of delivery services.
“This is an important step in scaling autonomous delivery across European cities.” – Marko Bjelonic
Bjelonic noted that today’s launch in Milton Keynes is a clear reflection of a shared commitment to making efficient and effective automated delivery solutions a reality. These workforce solutions will easily fit within current operations.
A similar pilot program was run earlier this year in Switzerland, where almost 1,000 autonomous deliveries were successfully conducted. The UK is in the middle of its own series of robot trials. Ireland has been busy testing delivery drones, signaling a rapid move towards automation in the food delivery industry.
Someone working very intensively with one of the four-legged robots on the street in front of the restaurant. This scene demonstrates the practical, real-world application of this cutting edge technology. To say that our urban communities have changing and increasing needs would be a huge understatement. Within this context, trials such as these will be imperative for determining the viability of autonomous delivery solutions.