Domino's Delivery Will Begin Using Self-Driving Robots To Bring You Pizza

Pizza company Domino’s teased a driverless delivery robot back in 2015, and now it will be a reality for some customers. Domino’s is using a fleet of autonomous robots built by Starship Technologies to deliver pizza in European cities, Starship announced Wednesday.

The robots, which are different from the previously teased vehicle, will deliver pizzas within a one-mile radius around a Domino’s locations in selected cities in the Netherlands and Germany.

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Domino’s Group CEO Don Meij said the robot delivery units will “complement” the company’s current delivery methods, such as cars, scooters and e-bikes. He added that the partnership between the pizza company and Starship makes regular robot deliveries one step closer to reality.

“With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won’t have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this,” said Meij in a statement.

The robot is a short, white vehicle with a Domino’s flag sticking up. The vehicle weighs no more than 40 pounds and moves at pedestrian speed, according to the Starship site. Also, you don’t have to worry about somebody going in and stealing your pizza, since the cargo bay is locked and can only be unlocked by the recipient.

The robot is designed to deliver goods in 15-30 minutes within a two-mile radius. Although the robots are autonomous, a human can take control of it at anytime.

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“We’re shared in our vision with Domino’s to constantly improve convenience for the customer.” Starship CEO Said Ahti Heinla, who is also a co-founder of Skype, said in a statement. “Not only is Domino’s pizza delicious, but the perfect topping is giving back the luxury of time and control to the customer, and our robots are best placed to offer this.”

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, the largest franchisee of Domino’s Pizza, created the Domino’s Robotic Unit, which uses robot and drone technologies for deliveries. The group will oversee the project.