Domino’s New Zealand Is Deploying Pizza Delivery Robots

Pizza delivery robots. I never would have thought I’d say or write those words in a sentence ever in my lifetime but Domino’s is making it a reality. Domino’s in New Zealand is now experimenting with little four wheeled robots that can deliver up to 10 pizza’s within a twelve and a half mile radius. Once the little robot has delivered its pizzas and heads home it needs to juice up before heading out on its next 10 pizza 12.5 mile run. The robot is equipped with a split compartment that keeps your pizza pies hot and any soft drinks ordered cold. Check out the short video below to see the “DRU” (Domino’s Robotic Unit) in action.

New Zealand is excited for this project and is backing Domino’s fully to get these little units to work delivering pizzas and pop as soon as possible. Domino’s hasn’t yet put the DRUs into service and no launch date has been given but it is expected to come very soon.

“DRU is cheeky and endearing and we are confident that one day he will become an integral part of the Domino’s family,” the chain’s New Zealand general manager Scott Bush said.

“He’s a road to the future and one that we are very excited about exploring further.”

The DRU look reminds me of Eve from the movie Wall-E with rugged tires instead of a magnetic anti-gravity device. It’s going to be interesting to see how the DRUs do in the real world with real obstacles and unpredictable human interaction. If successful, this move solidifies the opinions of many who believe that robots will soon replace humans in many jobs that are service related but we’ll leave that argument for another time.

What do you think of Domino’s Robotic Unit? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

[button link=”http://phys.org/news/2016-03-domino-trial-robots-pizza-delivery.html” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Phys.org[/button]

Last Updated on January 23, 2017.