Foodpanda partners with robotics startups for driverless delivery in Singapore

Food and grocery delivery major Foodpanda announced it will partner with three autonomous robotics startups – Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Whizz Mobility, Singapore-based Otsaw, and Chinese autonomous vehicle firm Neolix.

The Whizz robot / Photo credit: Flipkart

The robots from these three firms will provide additional support to riders by completing last-mile deliveries, especially in difficult locations, and help riders during peak hours and bad weather conditions.

The development comes as the pandemic has pushed companies to progress toward contactless, sustainable, and efficient ecosystem services.

Last month, Foodpanda rival Grab announced that it was set to pilot a robot runner service, which would help consolidate orders from several restaurants at Paya Lebar Quarter Mall in Singapore.

“These robots, which are meant to complement our riders, will allow us to increase our delivery capacity and serve more customers in a more sustainable and cost-effective way,” said Jorge Rubio, operations director of Foodpanda Singapore.

The company’s autonomous delivery projects began with the rollout of Whizz’s four mobility robots in May, which deliver across the entire NTU campus in Singapore. While the robots are self-driving, they are controlled by a back-end operator to accept orders. The trial will run until November 21, with plans to further expand within Singapore.

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Foodpanda will also launch its three-month trial with Otsaw’s Camello robots in August and increase the accessibility of its services in Punggol and other areas of Singapore. For now, the robots will deliver to about 10 blocks in the housing and development board.

Meanwhile, Neolix’s autonomous vehicles, which can store up to 100 bento boxes at once, will be stocked with midday pick-me-ups such as coffee and snacks. These vehicles will be transformed into mobile convenience stores for students and staff at the National University of Singapore.