Uber Eats patrons in Japan will soon experience the convenience of autonomous robot delivery on the bustling streets of Tokyo. A collaboration between Uber, robotics company Cartken, and Japanese industrial powerhouse Mitsubishi Electric has been announced, with plans to introduce self-guided sidewalk robots for Eats deliveries in select Tokyo areas starting next month.
This initiative marks Japan as the inaugural international market to integrate autonomous delivery services into the Uber Eats platform. Notably, Japan has a history of embracing robotic assistance in its hospitality sector, with various renowned restaurant chains having employed robot servers for several years.
The Cartken Model C robots, equipped with AI and computer vision capabilities, will be responsible for delivering food and maneuvering through the sidewalks of Tokyo. Mitsubishi Electric will oversee the operations as part of their collaboration.
The autonomous robots navigating sidewalks are programmed to steer clear of obstacles, give way to pedestrians, and halt at traffic signals. They move at a pace similar to that of a walking adult and come equipped with a storage compartment designed to maintain food at optimal temperatures during delivery.
In 2022, Uber Eats and Cartken initiated a collaborative effort to introduce autonomous robot delivery services in select areas of Miami, which they extended to Fairfax, Virginia, in the previous year.
Japan, which recently lost its position as the world’s third largest economy to Germany, has been grappling with the challenges posed by an aging population and a declining workforce for years, putting significant strain on its logistics infrastructure.
Shoji Tanaka, the senior general manager of the Advanced Application Development Center in the Development Division at Mitsubishi Electric, stated that robot delivery services are seen as a viable solution to the impending logistics crisis.
Tanaka mentioned that Mitsubishi Electric has been collaborating with Cartken to address these societal challenges. He expressed hope that their newly announced initiative will catalyze the adoption of robot delivery services across Japan. Tanaka further emphasized that in the future, Mitsubishi will leverage its expertise in building and factory infrastructure to enable autonomous robots to conduct deliveries within various facilities.
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