Uber is expanding its use of robots to deliver food.
This time, East Coast customers are getting a taste of technology for the first time.
Starting this week, customers in Jersey City, New Jersey will be offering orders from Avride Autonomous Robots.
The company joined forces in 2024, first launched delivery robots for Uber Eats customers in Dallas and Austin, Texas, marking a major milestone across the industry, rapidly advancing autonomous driving technology. did.
By eating customers ordering from participating restaurants, Uber can choose whether Avride Robot or traditional courier wants to deliver the meal before confirming the order.
When first launched, customers will receive robot distributions across Downtown Jersey City from 11am to 9pm, but the company plans to expand its operating area.
The expansion into the East Coast market marks the latest phase of Uber's multi-year strategic partnership with Avride. Avride is working to bring streaming robots and autonomous vehicles to Uber and Uber Eats.
From high-tech giants like Google's Waymo to automakers like Tesla, the company's growth list is competing to achieve autonomous driving by investing heavily in developing its own autonomous driving technology. Masu.
However, as companies invested heavily in their own businesses, Uber dumped the program for an entirely new strategy.
In 2020, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, the research division of autonomous vehicle research, was sold to autonomous driving startup Aurora, creating a partnership with a driverless car company, bringing technology to the market, and making efforts co-branding I did.
“Advances require partners. For autonomous vehicles, the partner is Uber. As the world's largest on-demand mobility and distribution platform, AV hardware and software with deep expertise in market management, fleet utilization and local operations. It is set up on its own to help developers deploy and scale their technology globally. Website Reading.
To date, Uber has more than 12 self-driving car partners, including Volvo, Aurora, Waymo, Cartken and Nuro, working together to boost autonomous delivery and taxi services.
With the latest Avride launch in New Jersey, Uber has an auto-operation distribution program in 11 cities with six partners. It's not too far from an autonomous taxi service, but we plan to expand it with Waymo over the next few months.
In particular, the robot can travel up to 5 mph on a single charge at 31 miles. They work in bad weather, such as snow, rain, and freezing subfreeze temperatures. Because their chassis provide traction on wet roads, and data from various sensors provides ample visibility.
The ride-sharing giant and Google's Waymo have already introduced autonomous driving in Phoenix and plan to expand autonomous vehicles to Austin and Atlanta in early 2025.
Austin customers are more likely to have a “interest list” launched and match the Waymo Robotaxi ride when the service debuts.
Uber and Avride are expected to start self-driving for Dallas residents in the second half of 2026.
