Recently, food tech startup, Uber eats has entered into a strategic partnership with robotics firm Cartken and Japanese industrial titan Mitsubishi Electric to launch autonomous sidewalk robots to deliver Eats orders in parts of Tokyo is scheduled to begin in a select part of Tokyo by the end of March 2024.During an event in Bengaluru, the company declared that it has collaborated with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). It is planning to extend its network and expand its mobility services through the Uber app.

With the collaboration, Japan will become the first international market to have autonomous delivery available on the Uber Eats platform. Cartken’s Model C robots will be delivering the food and navigating the sidewalks of Tokyo, and the operations will be supervised by Mitsubishi Electric as part of the partnership.

The autonomous robot “Model C”, designed by Cartken and utilizing computer vision and AI technologies, will be matched with deliveries from the Uber Eats app and its operations will be supervised by Mitsubishi Electric. Cartken’s Model C delivery robot will be driving by using AI models for object detection and localization algorithms to perceive and navigate the environment.

The senior general manager of the Advanced Application Development Center, Development Division at Mitsubishi Electric, Shoji Tanaka, stated that, robot delivery services are considered to be an effective countermeasure to the logistics crisis that will become more serious in the future.

The autonomous service of delivery system is optimized to avoid various obstacles, yield to pedestrians, and stop at traffic lights before crossing a road. The robot travels along sidewalks at a speed of up to 5.4 km/hr, equivalent to an adult’s walking speed. Inside the robot is an insulated 27-liter cargo bin that keeps food and other items at an appropriate temperature during delivery.

Co-founder and COO at Cartken, Anjali Jindal Naik quoted, “We’re excited to expand our partnership with Uber Eats and Mitsubishi Electric and pioneer Cartken’s autonomous robot delivery technology on the bustling streets of Tokyo. This collaboration signifies a leap forward in redefining the future of food delivery, making it more accessible and sustainable to consumers in Japan.”

Shintaro Nakagawa, general manager of Uber Eats Japan, said, “Uber Eats already offers delivery by bicycle, motorcycle, light cargo, and on foot here in Tokyo, and now we are adding a completely new delivery method: robot. We look forward to bringing fun surprises and a high level of reliability to our customers and merchants.”

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