Doordash Rolls Out Food Delivery Robots In Los Angeles

A robot connected wheels could service up your adjacent repast acknowledgment to a business betwixt DoorDash and Coco Robotics that’s bringing nutrient transportation robots to Los Angeles sidewalks.

The nutrient transportation work DoorDash announced Thursday that eligible customers successful Los Angeles and Chicago tin bid nutrient done their app to beryllium delivered by a small, box-shaped robot pinch zero emissions.

Coco Robotics and akin companies specified arsenic Serve Robotics and Starship Technologies person been operating nutrient transportation robots successful Los Angeles and different cities for respective years. DoorDash’s world limb Wolt began a business pinch Coco successful Helsinki, Finland past year.

“We’re excited to grow our business pinch DoorDash, combining Coco’s AI robocourier level pinch DoorDash’s nationalist standard and reach,” Coco Chief Executive Zach Rash said successful a statement. “This collaboration marks an important measurement guardant successful reshaping municipality transportation successful nan U.S.”

Coco has a fleet of much than 1,000 transportation robots that are remotely controlled by human operators. The institution is headquartered successful Santa Monica and was founded successful 2020 by 2 UCLA graduates.

Despite the challenges of navigating engaged metropolis sidewalks and crosswalks already shared by pedestrians, Coco robots person completed much than 400,000 deliveries and collaborated pinch hundreds of restaurants. Using transportation robots alternatively of quality drivers tin prevention restaurants up to 50% successful profits, according to Coco’s website.

Frustrated aliases skeptical passersby person kicked nan bots aliases intentionally obstructed their path, while nan cities of New York and San Francisco person banned them, connected and off, because of congestion concerns. Some opponents opportunity nan bots return jobs from quality workers and lend to chaotic municipality traffic.

DoorDash Labs, nan company’s robotics and automation limb progressive successful nan Coco partnership, announced a collaboration past twelvemonth pinch a drone transportation service called Wing. Wing drones began delivering nutrient successful Christiansburg, Va., successful March 2024 aft launching a aviator programme successful Australia successful 2022.

“Not each transportation needs a two-ton car conscionable to present 2 chickenhearted sandwiches,” Harrison Shih, elder head of DoorDash Labs, said successful a statement. “We judge nan early of transportation will beryllium multi-modal, and we’re thrilled to partner pinch Coco to grow sidewalk robot deliveries that complement nan Dasher network.”

Coco robots will partner pinch astir 600 merchants successful Los Angeles done nan DoorDash app. The robots’ median transportation region is 1 mile, according to a institution spokesperson.