Who loves to have their food delivered to their door? A lot of people do and those in San Francisco who appreciate that convenience will be getting an upgrade on how they get their orders. That is because Yelp Eat 24 and Marble will begin their robot food delivery service in the city.
There are yet to be concrete laws and regulations regarding robot food delivery in the United States but that is not stopping Yelp Eat24 and Marble. The two companies struck up a partnership and are already testing their hi-tech service in select neighborhoods in San Francisco. TechCrunch has seen one of these robots out and about early this April bearing the logos of both companies. But they only announced this officially yesterday.
According to CNet the robot food delivery in San Francisco is being done by a four-wheeled machine with a base akin to that of an electric wheelchair. The bot has a cargo bay capable of holding up to four grocery bags. It is also just as tall as a toddler at 4 feet in height.
The robot food delivery is made possible by Lidar sensors that detect light and range. This technology is similar to what is used in autonomous vehicles. This will allow the Marble-made bots to map the San Francisco sidewalks, including potholes and cracks on the road. Then the data will be used to reassess infrastructure.
Yelp Eat24 and Marble's bot, though, rolls at the leisurely pace of 3-4 miles per hour amidst the San Francisco traffic. But they are capable of running 6-8 hours a shift so they will be able to complete a lot of deliveries within that time. However, the robot food delivery service is currently able to cover short distances only, from 1 mile to 1.5 miles. And if the machine encounters a hiccup, humans will take over and complete the delivery.
