The future of food delivery is here, and it's in the hands of our robotic little friends.
Serve Robotics recently unveiled the scope of its partnership with Uber, which previously helped it launch its autonomous robot delivery in many US markets in the past.
Uber and Serve's partnership has been going on for quite some time; the two companies previously launched two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles, per PC Mag.
Uber-Serve Partnership Scope Reveal Details
Serve mentioned in its announcement that its commercial agreement with Uber allows it to deploy 2000 of its autonomous robots in multiple markets across the US under Uber Eats.
According to the company, the autonomous robots can potentially reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in the markets they'd be deployed in while improving the efficiency of last-mile delivery simultaneously. The robots can also offer customers and merchants a "new and innovative delivery experience" in their deliveries.
The expansion of the scope of Serve's partnership with Uber Eats is an opportunity the company is looking to capitalize on. Its robotic deliveries have grown over 30% month over month since deliveries began in 2022, with over 200 restaurants in Los Angeles now participating in its autonomous delivery pilots.
Mashable's report, citing the Society of Automobile Engineers, said that Serve's autonomous delivery bots are capable of Level 4 autonomy, meaning they could handle all aspects of driving without human intervention in certain conditions. For context, Tesla's Fully Self-Driving system has attained Level 2 autonomy as of press time, meaning that a Tesla driver using such software must constantly supervise its decisions in case it does something wrong.
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Thanks to its autonomy level, the delivery bots can reroute themselves automatically if they encounter obstruction and avoid collision with drivers on the road.
Serve-Uber Partnership Details
Dr. Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics said in a statement that he and the company are thrilled to be growing and expanding its partnership with Uber, which he deems as "a major step" towards its autonomous delivery robots' mass commercialization and proof of the success of its partnership with Uber.
"We are excited to continue our work with Uber to bring this innovative technology to more cities across the country," Dr. Kashani said.
On the other hand, the partnership's expansion also signals that Uber is furthering its commitment to autonomy. It previously announced Waymo's autonomous vehicles would be available for ride-hail and delivery on Uber's platform in Phoenix later in 2023, per Tech Crunch.
The two companies' partnership began a year ago as an autonomous delivery pilot in West Hollywood. Since then, Serve's robotic deliveries increased by more than 30% month-over-month. Thanks to the two companies' continued partnership, Serve's autonomous delivery bots operate seven days a week from 10 AM to 9 PM.
Kashani told Tech Crunch he expects Serve's rapid growth to continue under its partnership with Uber and that it would operate an increasing number of autonomous delivery bots as its coverage and delivery volume on Uber increases.
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