Uber announced on Tuesday that its Uber Eats business has partnered with Mitsubishi Electric and delivery robotics company Cartken to begin delivering food using self-driving robots in Japan.
Deliveries of the sidewalk robots should begin by the end of March in a select area of Tokyo, according to the companies. Uber Eats said Japan will be the first international site of its autonomous delivery operations, which have so far been limited to a few cities in the United States.
Cartken was founded in Oakland, California in 2019 by former Google employees. Its Model C robot, which uses artificial intelligence to navigate its surroundings and can approach human walking speed, will make up Japan’s fleet of courier robots. Mitsubishi Electric will oversee operations, the companies said.
“This collaboration marks a leap forward in redefining the future of food delivery, making it more affordable and sustainable for consumers in Japan,” Anjali Jindal Naik, co-founder and COO of Cartken, said in a statement.
The news from Japan marks the latest joint effort between Uber Eats and Cartken, which already offer sidewalk robot deliveries in Miami and Fairfax, Virginia.
Uber Eats has also partnered with robotics companies Motional, Nuro and Serve Robotics to pilot autonomous deliveries in other US cities.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/20/uber-eats-to-begin-self-driving-robot-deliveries-in-japan.html
