Uber Eats supply goes absolutely autonomous

Uber Eats is popping to autonomous automobiles in a significant market. Together with AV accomplice Motional, the third-party supply platform will likely be launching a brand new autonomous supply expertise in Santa Monica, California.

Deliveries will likely be performed in Motional’s IONIQ 5 automobiles, that are able to working autonomously. Collaborating eating places carry packaged orders to the curb and place them inside a locking compartment. As soon as the automobile arrives at its vacation spot the shopper is notified and retrieves the order from the automobile. 

Uber Eats and Motional have been engaged on the assorted buyer touchpoints for months with a watch towards a seamless rollout.

“At Uber, we’re all the time searching for methods to make use of new know-how to assist shoppers go wherever and get something,” mentioned Noah Zych, International GM for Uber’s Autonomous Mobility and Supply enterprise. “We’re thrilled to start piloting with Motional in California and are desirous to see how their promising autonomous know-how will start to alter how folks and items transfer all through the world for the higher.”

Conspicuous within the new testbed is the absence of drivers. Uber and its drivers have lengthy had a tense relationship. Autonomous car know-how appears primed to allow Uber to maneuver ahead with out these drivers earlier than lengthy.

The partnership is comparatively new, which makes the rollout all of the extra spectacular. Motional and Uber introduced their partnership in December of final 12 months. That is the primary on-road autonomous car (AV) pilot on the Uber Eats community, which makes it an necessary milestone for the know-how generally. Uber Eats controls an estimated 24% of the meals supply market, making its adoption of any new know-how extremely influential.

Motional’s automobiles have been piloted in passenger conveyance however the transfer to meals supply represents a pivot. The Motional IONIQ 5 automobiles used within the service have been tailored to allow autonomous deliveries. The brand new service will permit Motional and Uber to review shopper response and know-how integration. Uber clearly has long-term designs on AVs throughout its platform.