Coco Robotics Heads to Helsinki
Coco Robotics Heads to Helsinki
Richtech launches in Illinois, PizzaForno in California
This week is a big one for autonomous and remotely operated vehicles of all sizes, from sidewalk bot to eighteen wheeler. But before we get to the litany of launches, make sure you read last week’s deep dive on Hyphen, the restaurant of the future.
Ottomate News will be off next week, returning on September 9th.
Coco Robotics Launching on Uber Eats, Wolt
Santa Monica, CA-based delivery bot startup Coco Robotics has thus far largely worked directly with restaurants, as opposed to linking up with third party delivery networks. That’s set to change, as the company just announced a new partnership with Uber Eats, first deploying in Los Angeles neighborhoods like Venice and Hollywood, before launching in other domestic markets. Coco’s ambitions aren’t limited to the United States, as it’s also just announced a new pilot in Helsinki with DoorDash-owned Wolt. Coco has made over 300,000 deliveries to date.
Robotaxi Arms Race
Uber’s not just betting on one horse in the autonomy race, as the TNC giant has also just signed a multi-year partnership with GM’s Cruise. While the deal looks to initially focus on passengers, Cruise does have a history of delivery initiatives, working with players like Walmart in Arizona. Meanwhile, Waymo, which at times works with Uber and at other times competes with Uber, has doubled its paid trip volume over the past three months. Moving up in vehicle size, Gatik has secured a new investment from Nippon Express. And Einride debuted its first remote cab operator.
Richtech Heads to Illinois Walmart
Richtech Robotics has installed Illinois’ first drink-serving humanoid, as part of a larger deal to deploy at 240 One Kitchen branded eateries inside of Walmarts nationwide. While the star of the show is Richtech’s drink making ADAM machine, the Rockford store also gets a Matradee L tray-moving robot and a DUST-E-S automated floor cleaner.
California’s First PizzaForno Lands Near Sacramento
Not to be outdone, California has a first of its own: the Golden State just got its inaugural PizzaForno automated pizza vending machine. PizzaForno uses a franchise model, with franchisee Charlene Pabro-Leconte bringing the machine to a winery in the Sacramento region.
In Other News
Congressional ban of DJI and other Chinese-linked drone makers may impact agricultural monitoring tech. The New York Times does a deep dive on restaurant automation. (Ottomate was delighted to help Meghan McCarron get in touch with the right roboticists for this piece.) Grocery workers voice their support for SB 1446, which would limit the use of self-checkout machines in California.