A company that uses self-driving robots to deliver food, groceries and online purchases has begun mapping out the streets and sidewalks of Arlington County.
Avride, a Massachusetts-based company that produces autonomous cars in addition to delivery bots, has deployed at least one “personal delivery device” to chart a two-mile radius in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The initial phase is expected to last for about two weeks, according to a county webpage about the devices.
This follows the launch of similar technology in Alexandria in December, although that was with a different company, Serve Robotics.
“We’ll be sharing more details on timing, scale, and partnerships a bit later,” an Avride spokesperson told ARLnow.
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.
Avride also recently launched in Philadelphia, delivering food in a partnership with Uber Eats.
Autonomous delivery arrives in Philadelphia 🤖
Together with Uber, we’ve launched the city’s first robot food deliveries on Uber Eats.
Customers in Center City can now choose to have their meals delivered by an Avride robot.
Austin. Dallas. Jersey City. Now Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/QvRkuKHmQI
— Avride (@Avrideai) March 10, 2026
Avride’s robots have enough space to hold six large pizzas and five 1.5-liter bottles, according to the company’s website. With a maximum speed of 5 mph, they’re fully autonomous, navigating via a combination of cameras, lidar and ultrasonic sensors.
“With ultrasonic sensors, [the devices are] capable of halting immediately should an unexpected object appear in my path,” the website says. “Collisions with people and obstacles are out of the question.”
Delivery robots aren’t a new idea. A fleet of 20 of them rolled out in D.C. back in 2017, and in addition to Philadelphia, Avride has a presence in Austin, Dallas and Jersey City.
Some residents of the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor may already be familiar with robots having a look at their neighborhoods’ sidewalks. In the same area last summer, the county’s Department of Environmental Services (DES) deployed some laser-equipped bots to look for sidewalk defects like cracks and weeds.
For the time being, at least, DES is encouraging a cordial attitude toward Arlington’s latest roving robots.
You see me on the street, you always act surprised. Learn about commercial Personal Delivery Devices, aka robots, that could become something of a familiar sight around town. Say "How are you?" "Good luck." www.arlingtonva.us/Government/P…
— Department of Environmental Services Arlington, Virginia (@arlingtondes.bsky.social) 2026-04-27T13:54:32.206Z
