Pizza Hut is embarking on its latest innovation in the pizza-verse with the launch of its new robot delivery service.
The national chain is partnering with Serve Robotics, the leading autonomous sidewalk delivery company, to host a two-week pilot program in Vancouver.
From now until September 30, select Vancouver customers who place an order via the Pizza Hut app may have their favourite menu items delivered directly to their doorstep via robot.
Pizza Hut on 1725 Robson Street in Vancouver was selected as the first location for the pilot. Customers selected for robotic delivery will be able to use the Pizza Hut app to track the robot’s location as their order approaches and will receive a unique, one-time pin to retrieve their order from the robot’s secure compartment.
“Serve is excited to partner with Pizza Hut to provide Vancouver customers with the convenience and reliability of zero-emissions robotic delivery,” said Dr. Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics. “This is an important step forward in our efforts to expand our delivery platform to serve more cities and communities.”
Originally known as Postmates X and acquired by Uber, Serve Robotics was spun out as an independent company in 2021.
CEO Kashani has Vancouver roots. Kashani graduated from UBC with a PhD in Robotics and Computer Vision in 2012.
He founded a residential electricity monitoring startup named Neurio, which was acquired in 2015. Not long after that Kashani founded a startup named Lox which was quietly acquired by Postmates in 2017.
Serve’s state-of-the-art technology uses a range of sensors to identify nearby objects, enabling the robots to autonomously navigate sidewalks, while also being assigned to human supervisors to ensure their safe operation.
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