Uber Eats Japan Starts Delivery Services With Autonomous Robots: Large Capacity, Speeding 5.4 Km/hour

JAKARTA - Uber Eats Japan earlier this month started delivery services with autonomous robots for the Tokyo region, in order to increase service efficiency at a time when the country was experiencing labor shortages.

For now, the robots serve the Tonkatsu Aoki and Beniana Annex stores in the Nilonbashi area of Tokyo. However, the company hopes to expand the reach of its service areas. The robots are used for delivery between 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays.

The delivery process begins after orders are made on the Uber Eats app, the robot will go to the store to retrieve it, before sending it to the address specified by the customer, which will then use the key in the app to receive the order.

The head of Uber Eats Japan Shintaro Nakagawa said self-driving robots would not be able to develop overnight.

"But considering that this country faces labor shortages including '2024 problems', we believe that robots (which can drive on their own) will become more important as a way to increase delivery options," he said, quoted by The Japan Times March 25.

Uber Eats uses a robot supplied by Cartken, a company specialized in the technology, which is then adapted for use in Japan by Mitsubishi Electric. The robots are powered by artificial intelligence that allows them to drive themselves and operate remotely.

Its speed reaches 5.4 kph, just below the 6 kph speed limit for small vehicles controlled remotely determined by the Japanese traffic law. The robot has a capacity of 27 liters and 20 kilograms, with thermal insulation to keep food sent to customers at appropriate temperatures.

The robots used cameras to travel on pedestrian paths without hitting anything. The cameras automatically cover people's faces in the footage they take to protect the privacy of the people who enter the screen.

Head of the Mitsubishi Electrics Innovation Center Shoji Tanaka said his company wanted to further innovate so that it would allow autonomous robots to eventually ship goods inside the building.

It is known, Japan is now the second country in the world where Uber Eats, a food delivery service from ride-hailing company Uber Technologies, operates delivery robots. Previously, the company started using it in the United States in 2022.