Overview
- Customers can choose robot delivery in the Uber Eats app from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., track the trip in real time, and pay no extra fee or tip.
- Roughly six Avride robots are in service at launch, shared by about two dozen participating restaurants in the initial Center City zone.
- The battery-powered units cost about $15,000, weigh around 150 pounds, carry up to 55 pounds, run up to 12 hours, and handle trips of about two miles at speeds up to 5 mph.
- The robots use lidar, cameras, radar, and remote human supervision, include automatic blurring of faces and license plates, wait up to 10 minutes, and hand off to human couriers when conditions require.
- Uber and Avride say expansion is planned after a year of local testing, as reports highlight sidewalk accessibility concerns and PennDOT requires the devices to yield to pedestrians with fines for violations.