The appearance of delivery robots on the streets of Vancouver’s West End last week may have caused you to do a double take! Pizza Hut Canada‘s has announced a partnership with Serve Robotics to bring a robot delivery service to Vancouver for a two-week pilot program. Until September 30, select customers who place an order via the Pizza Hut app may have their favourite menu items delivered to their doorstep via robot. We chatted with a Pizza Hut rep to learn more. —Vita Daily
We hear Pizza Hut Canada is embarking on its latest innovation in the pizza-verse with the launch of its new robot delivery service. Who are you partnering with on this, and what’s it all about?
Pizza Hut Canada is partnering with Serve Robotics, an award winning startup out of California.
What’s the robot like?
The robot looks like something out of the future, normally travelling at a walking pace but can accelerate to a jogging pace. Much like a self-driving car, the robot has numerous sensors to indicate what’s in its proximity. It’s also interesting to note that the robot is totally autonomous with no human driver. The robot also has a secure cargo container that can only be opened by the customer or Pizza Hut by a unique passcode. Best of all, Serve robots produce zero emissions. By reducing our over-reliance on cars, they help lower CO2 emissions as well as traffic congestion. If we can take even a small fraction of food deliveries off the road, we estimate Serve can help eliminate over 1 billion car miles and more than 370K tons of CO2 annually.
Why robot delivery? How will this add to or enhance service?
Pizza Hut has always been on the forefront of technology, whether it be the first the deliver to the International Space station, or the first to put cheese in our crust! In today’s environment, more and more customers are demanding delivery straight to their doors. To meet this customer demand and provide the best possible experience, we are using the robots as a way to complement our current delivery driver model.
How will it work, from order to delivery? Walk us through the process!
A customer that lives within a 2km radius of the store will place a pre-paid order using the Pizza Hut app, checking off that they are okay with a robot delivery. There are certain limitations to the current delivery vehicle (i.e. order size limit, order must be pre-paid). Assuming that all criteria is met and the customer’s order is chosen to be delivered by the robot, the store team member would then cook the customers order fresh and load it into the self-driving robot. The customer’s address will be sent to the robot, and the self-locking cargo container will be closed to keep the order warm and secure. The customer will receive a text that their order is on the way and be able to track the order via the app. Once the robot is close to the customer, they will receive a notification to come outside to meet the robot. The robot will finally arrive and a unique PIN will be sent to the customer to unlock the cargo container, at which point they can remove their food to enjoy! Did I mention there’s no need to tip the robot?
How long will this pilot program last? Who will be selected to receive their pizza delivery via robot?
The pilot program is two weeks long, we are currently in our second week. Only customers that are within a 2km distance of the store can select the service, the order must be pre-paid, and the order must be able to fit into the cargo container. Unfortunately, due to the high demand, we cannot guarantee that all customers will have their order delivered by the robot.
Is robot delivery the future of pizza?
There is no intention for robots to take over current delivery jobs, but rather complement our delivery service allowing Pizza Hut to provide even more great tasting pizza to our customers!
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