Domino’s Ushers in New Robotic Age of Pizza Delivery

Robotics is a technology that’s influencing many different types of industries. Robots help surgeons with surgery, work in manufacturing environments, and so much more. Now, the application of robotics has given birth to one of the most important technological advances to the modern world: pizza-delivering robots.

Major pizza chain Domino’s has announced that it will soon be taking advantage of a pizza delivery robot that can autonomously deliver pizza directly to your home. The Domino Robotic Unit, or DRU, will debut in Domino’s Australian sector. While it sounds like a crazy marketing effort on Domino’s part, the robot has been confirmed to be real; not unlike KFC Canada’s bluetooth printer bucket that was advertised as a limited-time offer. The DRU has been tested in Queensland, Australia, and is reportedly only the first step forward in changing the way that Domino’s handles the pizza-ordering process. Check out this short video to see the DRU in action.

Supposedly, Domino’s claims that the DRU can perform the following tasks:

• Follow a map to a destination.
• Navigate sidewalks.
• Avoid obstacles.
• Keep your pizza hot while it delivers it to the specified location.
• Keeps your drinks cold.

Domino’s has been working closely with an Australian defense robotics firm, Marathon Robotics, to design the DRU. Marathon Robotics has been known to produce moving targets for law enforcement, state defense, and so on, to use during training exercises. In other words, you can count on the DRU to be able to take a beating, which is good; you don’t want some random passerby stealing your pizza.

Robotic delivery services aren’t completely unheard of. Amazon stated that it wanted to experiment with drone delivery services, but nothing really came of it. In a way, the Domino’s delivery robot is the first of its kind, and could pave the way for future pizza delivery apparatus. It’s just one way that the most unlikely of industries are taking advantage of modern technology to innovate and push toward greater heights.

What are your thoughts on using technology to autonomously deliver goods or services? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more tech news, tips, and tricks.