Up to 2,000 Uber Eats delivery robots to roll out in US cities

Through an expanded deal with Uber Eats, up to 2,000 sidewalk delivery robots from Serve Robotics are set to be deployed across multiple unspecified markets in the United States.

Serve Robotics is an independent autonomous sidewalk delivery company which spun out from Uber in 2021. The company said that over 200 restaurants in Los Angeles are now delivering Uber Eats via Serve robots and robotic deliveries have grown over 30 percent per month since they launched last year.

According to Serve, delivery robots have the potential to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, while also improving the efficiency of last mile delivery and offering customers and merchants a new and innovative delivery experience.

Dr. Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO, Serve Robotics, said: “This partnership is a major step towards mass commercialisation of robotics for autonomous delivery, and it is a testament to the success of our partnership. We are excited to continue our work with Uber to bring this innovative technology to more cities across the country.”

Kashani told Cities Today that Serve works with partners as well as local governments to decide which cities to launch in next. The first new market could be launched as soon as the end of this year, with more to come next year.

“We always engage local governments prior to rolling out to new cities and have found municipalities to be willing and helpful partners,” he commented, adding that in the United States “by default there are no restrictions against robots operating in cities.”

“Despite that, more than 20 states have proactively created frameworks for delivery robots, and many cities such as Los Angeles and West Hollywood have also created their own programmes,” he said.

‘Good robot citizens’

Sidewalks are already busy places with trees, street furniture, restaurant patios and sometimes abandoned bikes and e-scooters. Some have raised concerns about the impact of delivery robots on pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.

“This is an issue that has been front and centre since the beginning of our project in 2017,” said Kashani. “We understood that to successfully transition away from cars, alternative solutions such as delivery robots need to be designed in a way that makes cities more liveable, safer and greener.

“We’ve invested significant effort into designing our robots to be good citizens of the communities they operate in, and that includes ensuring that the robots are not disruptive to other sidewalk users.”

According to Serve’s website, the robots mostly navigate the sidewalk on their own in self-driving mode and are also supervised remotely. The devices use a range of sensors to identify the objects around them and to avoid obstacles.

Last year, the Urbanism Next Center at the University of Oregon released a report about delivery robot pilots in Pittsburgh, Miami-Dade County, Detroit and San Jose. Out of 3,000 completed trips there were no reported pedestrian safety incidents, and when robots struggled with delivery it was often due to overgrown trees and blocked or broken pavements.