Deliveroo is preparing to unleash an army of takeaway-delivering robots onto streets across Britain.
The food delivery giant has joined forces with Coco Robotics to use autonomous vehicles for the first time in the UK.
The four-wheeled bots will begin trundling along pavements in Canary Wharf, London, this month.
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They will then appear in Milton Keynes, Leeds, Stockton-on-Tees and Nottingham over the coming weeks and months, as reported by What’s The Jam?
Customers in Canary Wharf will initially be able to receive robot deliveries from restaurants including Patty&Bun, Signorelli and Beam.
The service is expected to expand later to include Ole & Steen, Royal China and Din Tai Fung.
Smoke and Pepper and 5 Akhis are among the first restaurants lined up for the Milton Keynes launch.
The fully electric robots are designed to tackle short-distance orders and travel at walking pace.
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They use cameras, onboard sensors and artificial intelligence to navigate pavements, spot obstacles and respond to changing street conditions.
Although the robots operate autonomously, trained staff will supervise the service and each machine will be programmed to follow local speed limits and routes.
Deliveroo said the vast majority of its orders will continue to be handled by human riders.
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Miki Kuusi, Deliveroo chief executive and head of DoorDash International, said: “London is where Deliveroo was born, so it feels fitting that we’re launching our first UK autonomous delivery service with Coco Robotics here.
“We see huge potential in autonomous delivery and we are looking forward to working with Coco to bring more flexibility to our delivery network.”
Coco’s machines will additionally gather live information about pavement hazards such as roadworks and discarded e-scooters.
That data will be shared with navigation app BlindSquare to help warn blind and partially sighted pedestrians about obstacles ahead.
The robots will not be the first mechanical couriers to hit British pavements.
Starship Technologies has operated delivery robots in the UK since 2018, initially becoming a familiar sight in Milton Keynes while carrying shopping from supermarkets including Co-op.
Just Eat launched a partnership with Starship in Sunderland in February, allowing customers to select robot delivery for takeaway orders through its app.
Uber Eats has also partnered with the company for autonomous deliveries in areas including Leeds and Sheffield.
Deliveroo said its partnership with Coco will eventually expand into further towns and cities, with talks under way with councils across London and the rest of the UK.
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