Kiwibot Teases AI Capabilities, Robotic Arm

QSRs love kiosks, traditional grocers win Turkey Wednesday, delivery bots on the attack

Before we get to this week’s news roundup, we want to remind you that there’s still time to grab our Cyber Monday deal: two tickets to Curbivore for just $99 total. You can meet with the top execs from companies like Uber Eats, Stellar Pizza, Walmart, Kitchen United, Sprinkles, Wonder, Everee, Yummy.com, Waev, Pipedream Labs, KitchData, Independent Hospitality Coalition, Bloomberg, SFMTA, Sweetfin, LADOT, Lyft, Nash, Erewhon Market, JOKR, Nextbite, Virtual Dining Concepts, Upfront Ventures, Nuro, Serve, Snackpass, Reef, Coco and many more, next March 28 & 29 — with each ticket working out to just $49.50!

Kiwibot Teases AI Capabilities

Food delivery robotics startup Kiwi has long been known as a non-autonomous player; its personable robots are remotely piloted by a team in LatAm. But that might be about to change, as the company is teasing an “AI Demo Day” on Tuesday, at the MindsDB AI Collective in SF. Adding to the speculation, CEO Felipe Chavez has leaked an image of a Kiwibot with a six axis arm attached. We’ll be following up with the company for more details; anyone in the Bay can try joining them at tomorrow evening’s event.

QSRs Embrace Ordering Kiosks

It might not be the shiniest technology, but it’s definitely making an impact on the bottom line… quick serve restaurants are rapidly embracing the use of ordering kiosks. Burger King now makes use of them in over 50% of international locations, with corporate locations so equipped driving 28% of digital sales through the channel. Upmarket competitor Shake Shack also notes that tablets account for over half of sales, with kiosks representing its highest margin channel. Given that one third of diners have stated they’d like to see more kiosks and tablets available, expect to see more of these machines in a restaurant near you.

Traditional Grocers Win Turkey Wednesday

You know Black Friday, Cyber Monday, even Giving Tuesday. But did you know that the day *before* Thanksgiving is “Turkey Wednesday”? Evidently shoppers sure did, as they raced to stores to pick up last second essentials before hosting the inlaws. While grocers of all stripes saw sales jump, traditional grocers like Albertsons and Kroger performed best, while specialty and discount grocers like Aldi and Trader Joe’s only saw single digit gains.

Delivery Robot “Attacks” Briton

A British man is claiming a Starship delivery robot “seemed to have a mind of its own” after it rammed into his dog. When the man kicked the bot in response, the machine then his his leg. While Starship is best known stateside for working college campus confines, in the U.K. it handles deliveries for Co-op, a grocery chain, in the city of Milton Keynes.

In Other News

Supply chain robotics corp Symbotic’s quarterly revenue jumps 60% to $392M. UPS unveils robot-powered Velocity facility. Walmart pilots parcel stations.