Some Arlington customers ordering on Uber Eats can now get their food delivered with futuristic flair — and no delivery driver.
Self-driving delivery robots, which began exploring the sidewalks of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor back in April, will begin providing their services today (Wednesday). From 10 a.m.-10 p.m. at participating restaurants, customers will be able to select whether to have a bot or a human courier deliver their food.
The robots — which, unlike humans, don’t accept tips — are the latest foray from the company Avride, which also produces self-driving cars and runs robo-delivery services in Austin, Dallas, Jersey City and Philadelphia.
“The delivery robots are really designed to make the local delivery safer, and more efficient and convenient,” Avride spokesperson Laura Lawton told ARLnow. “We operate responsibly and complement the existing delivery options that are out there.”
The robots are spacious, with enough space to hold six large pizzas and five 1.5-liter bottles. They’re self-driving, navigating at a maximum speed of 5 mph using a combination of cameras and LiDAR, and can slow down or back up on narrow walkways if it gets too crowded.
“As we continue to invest in the future of delivery, we’re excited to introduce autonomous delivery robots in Arlington with Avride,” said Aaron Emrich, head of autonomous delivery at Uber Eats. “This launch gives customers an exciting new way to order from their favorite restaurants and we look forward to bringing this technology to more Uber Eats customers over time.”
During a demo in Courthouse earlier this week, an Avride robot attracted curious looks from pedestrians, who mostly walked around the device as it successfully maneuvered along sidewalks and crosswalks.
“We’re seeing active interest from people in other locations, but most of the time it’s just curiosity, and as I said, we’re ready for that,” Yulia Shveyko, head of communications at Avride, told ARLnow. “The robots are durable, they’re sturdy, and they’re ready for people.”
The robots are programmed to wait in the lobbies of apartment buildings for up to 10 minutes as customers come down to unlock them with their phones. They have a home base where they get charged and cleaned at night, and often have staging areas near popular restaurants.
Robot delivery services are explicitly permitted under Virginia state law, so long as they don’t block public rights-of-way, obey all laws for pedestrians when in a crosswalk or sidewalk and maintain liability insurance of at least $100,000, among other requirements.
“Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is a dynamic, walkable urban environment with the density, connectivity, and street-level energy of an exciting place to introduce autonomous delivery,” said Avride CEO Dmitry Polishchuk. “We’re pleased to bring Avride’s robots to Northern Virginia through our continued partnership with Uber Eats, and we look forward to working closely with the Arlington community as we responsibly grow the service.”
Photo via Avride/X
