It’s no secret that each of us has imagined a future where robots come to deliver our food, whether it’s at our homes or in restaurants. However, it looks like Wendy’s might soon make this future a reality as the fast-food giant has recently partnered with autonomous logistics company Pipedream to develop a robot-powered “underground delivery system” for online order pickups.
This decision follows the company’s recent announcement of using the PaLM AI language model to help people place orders. And according to Matt Spessard, Wendy’s senior vice president and global chief technology officer, “As mobile ordering preferences increase, we’re thrilled to be the first quick service restaurant to partner with Pipedream, leveraging their unique delivery technology and system with the goal of reinventing digital pick-ups to bring more Wendy’s to more people as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
So, how does this technology work?
Wendy’s says when a customer arrives at their designated parking spot and confirms their order via the Instant Pickup portal, an autonomous robot then travels through a network of tunnels and delivers the food directly to the customer’s parking spot. Therefore, eliminating the need for customers to enter the restaurant or wait in lengthy drive-thru queues. Moreover, Wendy’s also claims that since they use Pipedream’s state-of-the-art “temperature-controlled delivery technology,” the food will remain at an optimal temperature during transit.
Although Wendy’s plans to introduce this technology in the latter half of 2023, the company has not yet finalized the locations. Speaking on this, a spokesperson clarified, “Wendy’s is currently evaluating company-operated restaurants along the East Coast with high digital order volume to determine the site for launching this technology integration.”
However, it is important to note that this concept is not entirely new, as many restaurants and establishments have already adopted robots and AI to enhance the restaurant experience. For example, back in 2021, Chilli’s introduced Rita the Robot to serve food in its restaurant and has since expanded its use to around 60 out of its 1,200 locations in the US.
2023-05-19 15:11:23