Pizza giant Domino’s is partnering with robotics company Nuro to bring autonomous robot pizza deliveries to Houston, Texas. Customers in the area can now have their pizza delivered by an adorable robot called R2, built by Nuro.
The four-wheeled vehicle was first introduced back in February 2020 and became the first fully autonomous on-road delivery vehicle to be approved by the Department of Transportation.
In April, the robot was given the green light by California’s DMV to be used on public roads.
This collaboration between the two companies will introduce an entirely new delivery experience to pizza lovers. Here’s how it works: select customers who place a prepaid website order from the participating Domino’s store can opt to have their order delivered by R2.
Customers who are selected will receive text alerts, which will update them on R2’s location and provide them with a unique PIN to retrieve their order.
Customers may also track the vehicle via GPS on their order confirmation page.
Once R2 arrives, customers will be prompted to enter their PIN on the bot’s touchscreen. R2’s doors will then gently open upward, revealing the customer’s hot Domino’s order.
Domino’s is the latest in a string of US companies to increasingly take advantage of autonomous delivery tech. For instance, retail giant Walmart is planning to start making autonomous deliveries this year using specially modified trucks in Arkansas and Louisiana.
This news suggests that adorable robot delivery bots are ready to take over public roads any day now — for better or for worse.
Reference- Domino’s Online Newsroom, Futurism, Engadget