Uber has abandoned the development of autonomous vehicles in 2020, but the company has signaled in recent weeks that it remains interested in exploring elements of autonomous technology for its services.
This week, for example, it became known that Serve Robotics plans to expand its alliance with Uber eats to deploy 2,000 of its tiny delivery robots around the US and Canada starting late this year or early next year, according to TechCrunch.
The partnership now includes a small delivery service in a small part of Los Angeles that began last year, with more than 200 restaurants now using the bot on wheels to deliver food to hungry customers between 10 p.m. and 9 p.m.
It’s not yet clear where the new food-delivery robots will be located, although San Jose, Dallas and Vancouver are prime candidates.
Originally founded in 2017 as part of Postmates’ robotics division, Serve was spun off as an independent startup in 2021 after Uber acquired Postmates a year earlier.
Serve robots, which look a lot like Starship Technologies and Ottonomy robots, travel the pavement on four wheels and can run almost a full day on a single charge of their built-in battery.
The sensor-laden autonomous vehicle has a top speed of 7 miles per hour (roughly 11 kilometers per hour) and contains a small food compartment that the customer opens when they reach their destination.
Commenting on the expanded deal with Uber, Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, called it “a big step towards the mass commercialization of autonomous delivery robotics,” adding that he is ready to “bring this innovative technology to more cities.” countrywide.
In another sign of Uber’s continued interest in autonomous technology, the company recently revealed that Waymo’s robot taxis will soon be available through Uber’s own sharing app. The service will launch later this year in parts of Phoenix, Arizona, where Waymo already offers taxi rides for paying passengers through the Waymo One app.
Uber is also partnering with Motional to deliver food in Santa Monica, California using a self-driving version of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 SUV.
Source: Digital Trends
I am Garth Carter and I work at Gadget Onus. I have specialized in writing for the Hot News section, focusing on topics that are trending and highly relevant to readers. My passion is to present news stories accurately, in an engaging manner that captures the attention of my audience.
