Postmates could deliver your next meal by robot
San Francisco will be the site of the test by the food-delivery company.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Postmates unveiled its Serve robots at the end of last year.
Postmates will be getting a permit to test its sidewalk delivery robots in San Francisco, according to a report. San Francisco Public Works will let the company that's behind the food-delivery app run tests of the service, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.
The San Francisco Public Works confirmed the permit has not yet been issued, but will be.
Postmates had originally partnered with Starship Technologies to trial delivery robots in Washington, DC, back in January 2017. In December of last year, it announced it was working on a fleet of delivery machines called Serve robots.
Serve robots will "work alongside the existing Postmates fleet to move small objects over short distances efficiently," Postmates said in a blog post last year, adding that the Lidar-equipped robots will travel at walking speed, run on electricity and bypass congestion by traveling on sidewalks.
Postmates' robots can carry up to 50 pounds, and they have a touchscreen for interactions.
Postmates didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
First published at 1:17 p.m. PT on Aug. 8.
Updated on Aug. 9 at 12:36 p.m. PT: adds confirmation from SF Public Works