Home Robo taxi food delivery becomes ‘a reality’ with tests in Phoenix

Robo taxi food delivery becomes ‘a reality’ with tests in Phoenix

TL:DR

  • Uber Eats partners with Waymo for self-driving food delivery in Phoenix.
  • Customers can opt for delivery by autonomous vehicle or human courier.
  • Waymo-Uber partnership expands autonomous services beyond ride-hailing.

Your favorite takeaway could soon be delivered by self-driving cars as testing is rolled out in Phoenix on Uber Eats for fully autonomous food delivery.

Over a year ago, Waymo and Uber formed a multi-year strategy partnership to make the Waymo Driver available to more people via the Uber platform.

As of April 3, this has now been made into a possibility with the fully autonomous car being able to deliver within a 225+ square mile radius in the Metro Phoenix area.

The car company, which was formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, describes itself as having created ‘the world’s most experienced driver.’ One that ‘never gets drunk, tired, or distracted.’

This new form of delivery won’t be as easy as simply opening the door to your burrito in the hand of a delivery worker though, as you’ll have to go outside when the car arrives and follow the instructions to collect your order.

While it’s pot-luck who sees a human and who doesn’t, you can opt out of the use of an autonomous vehicle if you’d prefer – instead selecting the option for delivery by a human courier.

This comes just seven months after the partnership rolled out ride-hailing capabilities through Uber. Residents in Phoenix have been able to request a self-driving lift, with no human driver behind the wheel.

At the time of the formal announcement, more than 10,000 rides were completed each week using this method.

Are other companies focusing on driverless cars?

In the modern world, new technology seems to be coming out every other month which has left many companies feeling the heat and the need to advance in the technological race.

While Waymo and Uber are cooking up advancements in their partnership, Apple’s plans for self-driving cars have been scrapped.

Just this month, it was found that more than 600 jobs will be axed following the abandonment of these plans.

The cuts will mostly impact workers at the iPhone maker’s site in California where it was discreetly working on ambitions to build electric vehicles. 614 members of staff are expected to be laid off in May.

Others are turning their attention to flying abilities, with a SpaceX-backed firm, named Alef Aeronautics, seeing nearly 3,000 pre-orders for its two-seater ‘car’ back in March. The plan is for the production of the first vehicle to be completed by the end of 2025.

Featured Image: Via the Waymo press release

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Sophie Atkinson
Tech Journalist

Sophie Atkinson is a UK-based journalist and content writer, as well as a founder of a content agency which focuses on storytelling through social media marketing. She kicked off her career with a Print Futures Award which champions young talent working in print, paper and publishing. Heading straight into a regional newsroom, after graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, Sophie started by working for Reach PLC. Now, with five years experience in journalism and many more in content marketing, Sophie works as a freelance writer and marketer. Her areas of specialty span a wide range, including technology, business,…

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