Uber Eats in Miami will start delivering food via robots

DORAL, FL – Uber Eats in Miami will begin to deliver food via autonomous, sidewalk-trotting robots due to a new partnership between the company and robotics firm Cartken.

The food delivery option will be available at first in the Dadeland area of Miami-Dade County, but plans are to expand it to the rest of the county and to additional cities next year.

The service started on Thursday, Dec. 16, and consists of six-wheeled robots with multiple sensors and cameras to help them avoid collisions and choose routes which have the fewest hazards, according to its website. The delivery robots can operate indoors as well as outdoors.

Those who have their food delivered by these robots will be alerted when is on the way and then be instructed to meet the remotely-supervised robot on the sidewalk, according to information sent by Uber to CNN.

After this, customers can unlock the vehicle through their phone and take their order from a secure compartment. (Customers can also opt-out if they prefer to have their items delivered by a courier.)

In a statement Thursday, Noah Zych, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, said the latest collaboration with Cartken for Uber Eats in Miami is “another important milestone for our efforts in automated and autonomous technology.”

In addition, Christian Bersch, co-founder and CEO at Cartken, pointed out some benefits of this partnership, including how it can help communities by reducing traffic congestion and allowing local merchants to increase delivery capacity via emission-free delivery options.

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