Understanding the Humanoid Robot
In the coming years, prepare to see plenty of food delivery robots. In fact, you might have already seen them if you live in certain areas of the Western world. Take Northern California for example. It is becoming a hotspot for food delivery robots. That might be due to the robots being near Silicon Valley. These small robots are arriving at restaurants and picking up orders. They then journey to each customer’s front door and drop the food off. Let’s find out more about these amazing pieces of technology.
Fleets of Food Delivery Robots Are on the Move
Major companies are taking notice of food delivery robots. Better yet, a lot of them are purchasing entire fleets of the robots. You might be familiar with one of the companies. It’s called DoorDash. It’s a website/app that millions of people use to order food. DoorDash has already started using these robots to deliver orders to people. The engineers of the robots made them capable of holding onto up to 22 pounds of food. That’s enough food for plenty of people.
You might be asking yourself the following question right now. Wait, couldn’t anyone grab the food off of the robot and run away? Nope. Each robot features a locked compartment. This prevents tampering from ever taking place. So, what happens once the robot arrives at the customer’s location? DoorDash sends the customer a text message. The customer clicks the link in the message to unlock the food compartment.
The Food Delivery Robots Are State-of-the-Art
Let’s continue to use the fleet of DoorDash food delivery robots as an example. Each robot contains many cameras. This provides the machines with a 360-degree view at all times. The cameras function as more than security cameras. The robot uses the cameras to get past obstacles of all kinds. Think these robots can't climb over curbs? Think again. Once the robot reaches a curb, it can lift each wheel up one-by-one. Then it continues onto the sidewalk as a human would do. These robots are also programmed to avoid colliding with people and other obstacles. In fact, each robot can only travel 4 miles per hour. Why so slow? It is to prevent dangerous collisions with humans, cars, and other factors.
What inspired a large company like DoorDash to invest in these cutting edge robots? One food industry insider claims that they do the work that humans don't want to do. Think about it. Delivering food door-to-door is not a long-term career option. That’s why an organization like DoorDash is trying to find a long-term solution. So far, these robots are the solution. In fact, DoorDash claims that there hasn't been one instance of theft or vandalization. And that’s after these robots have come into contact with well over 4 million people.
DoorDash and other companies are considering adding sirens to their robots. This is for safety reasons. Like a Lime scooter sounds off when there's trouble, the same will apply to food delivery robots. Also, each robot's equipped with advanced location tracking software. This ensures that companies will not lose out on their big investments if theft takes place. What other features will get added to these robots? Only time will tell.
Food Safety Issues That Apply to Food Delivery Robots
Many people get confused about the regulations that apply to food delivery robots. What is the biggest concern? Food safety. Delivered foods need to get kept at the right temperature setting. When this doesn’t happen, food poisoning can occur. In fact, potential safety issues of all sorts are impacting the development of robots.
Let’s use Haidilao as an example. Not familiar with it? It’s a restaurant chain in China that uses robots inside the kitchens. Customers who walk in can see the room where the robots are preparing the food. The room is always kept between 0 to 4 degrees Celsius. Customers can watch in awe as robotic arms cook and season meats and vegetables.
So food delivery robots to have longterm success, companies will have to get smart. They can even take a page out of Haidilao’s playbook. No, that doesn’t mean having robotic arms handle steak and asparagus. It means companies should stay transparent about their efforts to maintain food safety. Otherwise, companies like DoorDash are going to suffer big losses. But companies will soon have some help.
Governments across the world are currently developing robotic rules and regulations. Complying with these regulations will help all delivery services. They will be able to offer quality robotic deliveries to customers. But as of right now, it’s the Wild West when it comes to guidelines for food delivery robots. This has caused concern for some people that goes beyond food preparation issues. Some citizens worry the robots will block important spaces such as fire hydrants.
Will Food Delivery Robots Replace Tons of Humans?
Do not expect food delivery robots to replace that many current jobs. The current technology limitations of robots prevent many jobs from getting replaced. In fact, most companies do not view robots as equal substitutes for employees. Now, could this notion change in the next decade or so? Of course. Take MIT’s Spyce Kitchen. It is one of the first “robo-powered” restaurants in the world. Despite Spyce’s robots delivering the food, humans still prepare it. Why? The owner states that actions like cutting and chopping are better with human touch. Also, humans at the restaurant load goods into containers. The robots then pick up the goods on their own.
Food robots such as those of Spyce’s do not know how to do tasks such as cleaning. This is sign that the future of food services will not get dominated by robots. Instead, humans will work alongside robots to deliver high-quality results to customers. The key is to not get naive and assume that one’s job will always exist. The emergence of robotic technologies will cause eventual displacement of some careers. This is due to automation. But as far as robotic food delivery goes, it has not cut out many people’s jobs yet.
The AI Technology of Food Delivery Robots
The artificial intelligence of food delivery robots is growing stronger by the day. Quite a few organizations created recent AI capabilities. These AI functions make the robots operate better. For example, an AI program will give each robot the capacity to learn from information. This isn’t so the robot can take an SAT test someday. It’s so the robot is able to prevent a problem it encounters from happening twice. Advanced AI technology will also help robots navigate difficult terrain. Say the food delivery robot sees snow and ice on the ground. AI capabilities will help the robot decide the most ideal and safest route to take.
Organizations are getting creative with adding artificial intelligence into the functions of robots. For instance, look at the REV-1 food delivery robots. They are almost always able to avoid getting lost and travel without human help. How is this possible? The developers programmed the AI to only travel in bike and car lanes. Why? Because sidewalk travel is too complicated for quite a few robots to comprehend (as of now). Think about it. Say you had never seen a sidewalk in your entire life. Would you know all the nuanced rules about traveling on them? (Such as always walking on the right side so other people have space.) Of course not. This concept also applies to food delivery robots.
As of late, the Rev-1 programmers have been restructuring their AI for bike lane travel. Delivery robots have to realize when a human on a bike is pedaling towards them at any angle. In the future, look for AI to continue to progress at a rapid pace. Years from now, these food delivery robots will have almost a sci-movie level of awareness. And this reality may occur sooner than most people realize.
Are Food Delivery Robots Autonomous?
Keep in mind that most current food delivery robots are not yet 100% autonomous. In fact, many robots have human handlers walking next to them. This is a safety precaution that will get reduced as time goes on. A lot of companies are also having workers sit in command centers. This is so someone can take control of the robot if an accident occurs.
For example, the robot could come across an unanticipated road closure. Or it could reach a busy and complicated intersection. Look for food delivery robots to become more and more autonomous over the next few years. Once again, it all comes down to how advanced the AI within each robot is.
Conclusion: Food Delivery Robots Are Here to Stay
If you want to be a leader in the food industry, consider using food delivery robots. Why? Well, as you can see from this article- they are the future. And they're projected to save companies a lot of money in the coming years. Their security features have become advanced. Enough so that they are no longer a risky investment. Contact us today if you would like to learn more about food delivery robots. We want to encourage and help people grow in their industries. That is the only goal of Robotics of America.
