Is this the next frontier in pizza delivery? It’s certainly possible, and Domino’s is leading the charge. The company showed off its “commercial autonomous delivery vehicle” last week called the Domino’s Robotic Unit, or DRU–a collaborative effort between Domino’s Pizza Australia and Marathon Robotics, which is responsible for supplying military-grade robot units to Australia and other countries.
Right now, the prototype is still in the testing stages in specific neighborhoods–but according to the specs, it weighs about 450 pounds and can travel about 12.4 miles per hour. At those speeds, it won’t exactly be traveling down a major highway any time soon–but it uses the same tech and sensors as self-driving cars to maneuver around any potential obstacles in its path.
The biggest concern at the moment, of course, is safety. The team behind DRU want to make sure that it’s both following the rules of the road and keeping the food properly contained to follow all safety guidelines for consumption. If it passes enough tests with flying colors, however, DRU could be the new future in pizza delivery. No word yet on whether it will require a tip.
(via Forbes)
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