At crosswalks across Austin, drivers might find that instead of stopping for walkers they will be stopping for robots delivering food to Uber Eats customers.
The partnership between autonomous vehicle company Avride and Uber Eats, made official this week, is yet another flagship project by Uber in hopes of staying relevant as technology in the self-driving space continues to advance.
With delivery robots already funneling into Austin, here is everything you need to know about what to expect and what else is coming from Uber:
What will robot delivery services look like?
The option for robot delivery is already available, and customers will know If a restaurant offers robot delivery, the Uber Eats storefront will display a note that says, “Autonomous vehicles may deliver your order.”
Once a robot is on the way, customers can track its real-time location on the Uber Eats app and will receive a notification when it arrives.
At the delivery location, customers simply tap “unlock” in the app to open the robot’s hatch and access their order.
Initially, these delivery services will be carried out by sidewalk robots developed by Avride. Austin will be the first city that will see these robots through the partnership, but there are plans to expand into Dallas and Jersey City, N.J., later this year.
Autonomous car-based deliveries through Uber and Uber Eats are scheduled for the future, and those services are expected to start first in Dallas next year.
According to Avride, after launch, when consumers request a qualifying delivery or ride on the Uber Eats or Uber app, they might be presented with the option to have that trip fulfilled by an Avride delivery robot or an autonomous vehicle.
Waymo and Uber are already bringing driverless rides to Austin
Last month, Waymo and Uber announced an expansion of their driverless ride-hailing program into the Austin area in the near future.
The service, called the Waymo One experience, is already running in three U.S. cities and is to expand into Austin and Atlanta — both cities where Waymo has already been testing self-driving cars. The feature will be available only on the Uber app and is set to start in early 2025.
When driverless rides start, they will do so via a fleet of Waymo’s fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, which both companies say they plan to grow into a fleet of hundreds of vehicles over time.
Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman. To share additional tips or insights with Salgado, email [email protected].
