UAE’s First Food Delivery Robots Deliver Their First Orders

New arrivals on the streets of Dubai Silicon Oasis this week.

Collecting from Starbucks, Oregano, and Lebanese restaurant On the Wood at the Cedre Villas community centre, customers can now order robot-delivered food, which typically takes up to 15 minutes to arrive.

"We have had to start small as we can’t serve all the homes and restaurants, but this is the next test outside of Expo," said Maria Estevan, director of special projects at Talabat.

"The technology showed people were engaging with the robots, but now we need to take it outside of a controlled environment."

Reports added that seven "talabots" will serve about 300 homes, delivering food and drink orders from Starbucks, Oregeno, and the Lebanese restaurant On the Wood at the Cedre Villas community center. Customers can look forward to delivery within 15 minutes.

Customers can order through the Talabat app and track their delivery.

Fitted with radar and ladar operating systems, the delivery robots are well equipped to deal with other vehicles, curbs, and even an inquisitive stray cat.

Talabots will only operate inside a gated community within a 4.8-kilometer radius of the restaurants, but they will share road space with other everyday traffic.

According to the report, the robots can operate in all weather conditions and withstand the extreme summer heat of the UAE when securely stored inside a temperature-controlled unit.

Once delivered, customers can open the robot to collect their order by using a unique access code.

If all goes well, it is hoped the service can be expanded and contribute to Dubai’s plan for one in four of all road trips to be autonomous by 2030.

According to the report, the project is a direct result of the RTA’s Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport, under the category of "Self-Driving Logistical Services,"  which includes ground transport and drones.

Artificial intelligence deployed in the talabots safeguards people’s identities by blurring faces with no facial recognition detection.

To blend in peacefully with the community, the robots are outfitted with a slew of built-in sensors and algorithms that assess their surroundings and detect obstacles in their path, keeping a safe distance from toddlers and pets.

A report talking about plans to expand the fleet said, "The robots do not belong to Talabat, but are fully insured in the unlikely event of a collision or damage to property."

"If someone accidentally hits the robot, there will be the usual insurance claim as if two cars hit each other," said Ms. Estevan.

"Our customers will get used to seeing the talabots on the streets every day."

"We are serious about scaling this up; it is not branding, and we are looking at how we can optimise our fleet."

"It will cover short, medium, and long distances with robots, delivery riders, and drones."

Ms. Estevan added that DSO has notified residents about this, and we are collaborating together for this to work.

"This will last at least three months, and then we will see."