Uber Eats customers in Jersey City now have a new and exciting way to receive their food orders—by using small, self-driving robots that travel along the sidewalks. This new delivery service started just this week in New Jersey and is part of Uber’s ongoing exploration into using automated vehicles for delivery.
This partnership, which has been developing since October 2024, is between Uber and a company called Avride. Uber has already integrated delivery robots and self-driving cars from various partners in 11 cities, including other companies like Cartken, Nuro, and Serve Robotics. They also plan to incorporate robot taxis from a company called Waymo into their app in Austin and Atlanta sometime in early 2025.
Previously, Uber and Avride had launched robotic delivery services in Austin and Dallas, and they are also getting ready to introduce Avride’s self-driving taxis in Dallas later this year. Avride emerged from a larger technology company in Russia called Yandex, which had to restructure after the country’s military actions in Ukraine last year. Recently, Avride announced a partnership with Grubhub to deploy delivery robots on university campuses throughout the U.S., starting with a fleet of 100 robots at Ohio State University.
Interestingly, Jersey City presents some unique challenges for these robots. During the winter months, especially in February, the weather can vary significantly, featuring snow, rain, and freezing temperatures. However, Avride has stated that their robots are designed to handle such conditions, even in light snowfall and moderate rain.
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These delivery robots can travel at a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour and can cover distances up to 31 miles on a single charge. However, they work best for deliveries within a range of 1 to 2 miles. For their initial launch in Jersey City, Avride will operate their robots within a designated area of one square mile, which includes popular spots like Hamilton Park, Historic Downtown, and the Waterfront. Although the company has not disclosed the exact number of robots available for delivery at the start, they do plan to expand the service later on.
Several well-known restaurants are participating in this new delivery service, including Jiangnan, Rumi Turkish Grill, and Gulp. When customers order food through the Uber Eats app, they can now choose whether they want a traditional delivery person or an Avride robot to bring their meal. They’ll also be able to track the robot’s location through the app and receive a notification when it arrives. When the robot gets there, customers can unlock it with the app to retrieve their food.
During a recent earnings report, Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, emphasized that 2024 could be a pivotal year for the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry, which he believes holds massive potential—worth trillions of dollars in the U.S. alone. However, he also cautioned that fully implementing these technologies would take time due to challenges, including the high expense of equipping vehicles with the necessary technology, complex regulations, seasonal changes in demand, and the need for outstanding safety measures.
