Meet DRU, Domino’s Robotic Unit, your unmanned pizza delivery robot.
DRU is not just conceptual. Trials went underway this week in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and New Zealand.
Please consider Domino’s Unveils New Pizza Delivery Robot ‘DRU’.
Pizza delivered by a robot? It may seem out of this world, but for one pizza company, the idea may be closer to reality than ever.
The project is a collaborative effort from Domino’s and Australia-based robotic company Marathon Targets, which created the first autonomous robotics for the Australian defense force in the late 2000s.
DRU is made from water-tight, weather-proof acrylic plastic, with an aluminum and milled steel interior. The robot implements light sensors to help navigate through the streets — similar to the technology used by self-driving cars.
According to a video posted on Domino’s YouTube channel, DRU is expected to launch globally in March 2017.
DRU Deep Lab
An ARS Technica Report on Robots notes DRU uses software developed by the Australian military contractor Marathon, which manufactures autonomous robots with obstacle-avoidance capabilities.
The DRU is battery powered and has a range of about 20 kilometers (12 miles). It moves on footpaths and roads. Speed not designated.
I struggle to envision this on anything but neighborhood roads and sidewalks, in safe areas. The wheels do not look particularly robust. How long one would last on the streets of Chicago remains to be seen.
Regardless, DRU is the world’s first autonomous delivery vehicle. Others are sure to follow.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
I guess they made it as ugly as possible so no one would walk off with it.
Ahem, 🙂
http://mishtalk.com/2016/03/17/rbs-goes-to-robo-advisors-fires-hundreds-real-advisor-requires-250000/#comment-3990
Ha! Who needs advisors? Just buy the index funds and be good Bogleheads. Oh, and the printing of new ETF certificates is as limitless as digital book keeping entries. Bit Stocks?
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This looks more like publicity stunt, than actual delivery vehicle. But well, it seems that you are right about vanishing of lots of logistics related jobs in the near future. One thing I can’t stop thinking about is, what will those out of job do. After all, not everyone has the capacity to do complex jobs. Not everyone has the characteristics necessary to work with people. Some simply are only good at simple repetitive jobs, that robots take away.
Sad to say, but there is a large (and growing) segment of this “society” that is unfit to perform labor of any kind.
Just the sort who get picked to interfere in other people’s.
Great! At least you won’t have to tip the robot for delivering your cold, rubbery, tasteless “pizza”.
They don’t work well on their sides .
Warning … you have been identified as a person engaged in disorderly conduct. Place yourself face down on the ground immediately. Use of deadly force has been authorized. Laser weapon enabled.
“No hablo ingles.”
zzzzzzzzzzzzt
poof
Domino’s should try making a better pizza by using dough instead of cardboard.
What a brilliant idea. Spend 200,000.00 for a stupid machine along with finance costs and support infrastructure to replace a high school kid working at minimum wage or less in his own car and living on tips. *
Reblogged this on John Barleycorn and commented:
Ahhhhh technology
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Probably meant to be ‘cheaply built’. The more important and expensive parts, i would think, is the software (probably Google). Perfect that and the mechanics are easy.
What a fun time to be alive.
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Hard to imagine this gadget arriving at it’s destination with a pizza cargo still intact in many Chicago (and other big City) neighborhoods.
Domino’s has been advertising the DXP human driven pizza delivery vehicle in the US. It has its own website, dominosdxp.com. It’s just a short step from human driven to autonomous.
you get it under 20 hours or its free!
you get it IN under 20 hours of its FREE! (no editing?)
Dominoes should use either drones or missiles. Much faster.
Minuteman launch control blast door:
http://www.motherjones.com/files/D1-Launch-Control-Blast-Door630_0.jpg
Just try to use one of these in Any America city. Use this in Birmingham? Newark? Chicago? Detroit? Nashville? St. Louis? Really?
Within minutes of entering the “No Go Zones”, these things will be beaten with baseball bats and/or stolen for parts. To some “youths”, they can sell the entire unit for $25 to computer geeks who will love the sensors, cameras, mother boards.
These would have worked in America of 1950’s, but not to day with our vibrant demographics. There is no safe way to deliver Pizza, or mail, or packages to certain areas. Why? I don’t know myself.
Looks like a pool cleaner with a thingamy jig on top of it.
and pizza sales will go down as the out of work drivers no longer can afford take out. and dominos, pizza hut et al will scratch their heads wondering why.
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