JAKARTA - One of the leading online food ordering and delivery platforms in South America, iFood, has made a major investment in autonomous food delivery robots.
iFood made a strategic seed investment into Synkar, a Canadian start-up focused on robotics and autonomous vehicles. The two companies are also collaborating on a pilot project that will soon launch the first batch of Synkar robots. They also have aggressive plans to increase the fleet to 100 robots in the field by 2022.
"During a global pandemic, the need for safe, contactless food delivery options has skyrocketed. However, even as we are poised to enter a post-pandemic world, companies have seen the tremendous value that self-delivery options can offer," said Matheus João Accoroni Theodoro, Co- Founder and CEO of Synkar Autonomous.
iFood's investment in Synkar represents a food delivery leader doubling their recent investment in AI and robotics. For example, they recently used AI and location-based behavioral data to improve the efficiency of their delivery logistics. They can now consider specific meal preparation times to ensure optimal pick-up times for their delivery partners.
iFood will leverage Synkar's robots to handle the last bit of delivery in large residential condos, particularly residences looking to maintain delivery during the pandemic while keeping person-to-person contact to a minimum. In a kind of early beta test, the autonomous robot delivered Easter eggs in Brazil, at Shopping Iguatemi in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of the State of São Paulo.
"As we like to say, the last mile is always the most difficult, and our delivery robots have proven adept at navigating densely populated areas where driving can be a challenge. This can include densely populated urban areas, airports, universities, hotels and resorts. , or the company campus,” added Theodoro.
Synkar's robots have gained significant traction in Ireland and Canada with partnerships in cities such as Oshawa and Innisfil. Synkar is also environmentally friendly and uses 100% electricity. The robot can carry up to 30kg, with an autonomy of twelve hours of work.
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