Just Eat UK has started testing new delivery robots that can navigate stairs in built environments. Through this pilot project, consortium members Enride, Sblock, Gophr, and EasyMile hope to improve the viability of autonomous delivery solutions in cities across Europe. The robots, which were created by RIVR, are made with the ability to overcome tough urban barriers like stairs in an agile manner.
The trial currently involves ten independent restaurants across two locations: Milton Keynes and Bristol. In Milton Keynes, outlets taking part include 12th Street Burgers & Shakes and Moores Fish & Chips. In comparison, Bristol is home to eight restaurants, including Jolly Fryer, Chicken Mews and Bishopston Fish Bar.
These four-legged robots have wheels on the end of each leg that lets them roll across any surface. With an eye-catching orange Just Eat box strapped to its rear, the otherworldly-looking robots are designed to deliver. The actual urban environments chosen for the trial will offer useful information on the robots’ functional capabilities and efficiency.
Marko Bjelonic, co-founder and chief executive of RIVR, noted how important this partnership was. He stated that it represents “an important step in scaling autonomous delivery across European cities.” What we’ll learn from this trial should open the door for larger scale deployments of this type of technology in cities everywhere.
This new program comes on the heels of a successful three-month pilot program run in Switzerland that saw almost 1,000 autonomous deliveries covered. The success of the Switzerland program has already inspired Just Eat UK to expand the trial and test such technologies further within the UK. Irish startup Manna has begun working with delivery drones on Irish test beds. This landmark agreement is another indicator of how delivery automation — in food and beyond — is maturing.
With the deployment of these innovative delivery robots, Just Eat UK is taking steps to streamline service delivery and tackle the challenges of urban delivery in their markets. It’s the complexity, unpredictability, and malleability of real-life, and those ongoing trials will test the robots’ navigation skills and their adaptability to ever-changing, real-world conditions.