GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

Photo by: digitaltrends
DOMINO’S PIZZA
UNVEILS
SELF-DRIVING
PIZZA DELIVERY
ROBOT
If you told my college self that in a
few years, pizza would be delivered
by a smaller and less depressed
version of the robot Marvin from The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,
I’d have laughed in your face (and
maybe barfed, too, because college
was an insane blur).
Well, my past self should have known
better because Domino’s Pizza just
told the world that it is currently
testing a new, totally autonomous,
pizza delivery robot that will be driving
itself to your door in the very near
future. The Domino Robotic Unit, or
DRU, is apparently not an elaborate
marketing stunt but an actual robot
that’s been driving around Australia
for some time now for its trial runs
before Domino’s rolls it out to the
world.
According to Domino’s, DRU can deliver
pizzas up to 12.5 miles away and will
be using the sidewalk and bicycle lanes
while following your GPS coordinates.
After ordering, you get a unique code
on your phone that will let you open a
specific compartment on DRU, which
incidentally can carry up to 10 pizzas in
separate heated compartments, along
with drinks.
For those worried that little DRU might
fall into a pothole, worry no more because
this robot was built by Marathon Targets,
a company that works primarily with the
military in developing robots specifically
for obstacle-avoidance during live-fire
exercises. Because when I’m having my
pizza delivered, I take comfort in knowing
it’s being done by a military-grade piece
of technology.
Photo by: PCmag
Photo by: imgix
32
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics
Photo by: Arstechnica