Amsterdam-based food delivery service Just Eat Takeaway.com is testing autonomous ground robots for food delivery in Zurich, making it the first on-demand delivery firm in Europe to pilot robots with both wheels and legs powered by physical AI.

The pilot is in partnership with Swiss robotics company RIVR, whose robot can climb stairs and curbs and travel at up to 15 km/h in various weather conditions.

The robot, which carries up to 40 liters and has safety features like lights and a flag, is being used to deliver real orders from local restaurant Zekis World, a fast-food Turkish restaurant in Zurich.

Orders are placed into the robot at the restaurant and unlocked by customers upon delivery, with each trip monitored remotely for safety.

Just Eat Takeaway.com said it may expand robotic delivery to more cities and include retail and convenience store orders in the future, after earlier drone tests in Ireland.

🔗 Source: EU Startups

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Robot delivery represents a nearly decade-long journey from concept to commercial viability

Just Eat’s current Zurich pilot isn’t their first venture into robotic delivery. They tested similar technology with Starship Technologies in London back in 20162.

That earlier trial used robots with over 5,000 miles of accident-free operation, yet it took nearly eight years for Just Eat to launch another robot delivery pilot2.

By 2018, Starship’s robots had collectively traveled over 100,000 miles and interacted with more than 15 million people without incidents, demonstrating the technology’s safety credentials3. Despite this track record, widespread commercial deployment remained elusive.

The extended timeline from successful pilots to current deployment suggests that factors beyond technical capability, such as regulatory frameworks, cost economics, and consumer acceptance, have been the primary barriers to scaling robot delivery services.

The service robotics industry was valued at $9.01 billion in 2016 with projections to reach $24.1 billion by 2022, indicating substantial investor confidence even during the early pilot phases4.

2️⃣ Operational economics drive renewed interest in delivery automation

The cost structure of robot delivery has historically been a key selling point, with early Starship deployments in Washington D.C. targeting delivery costs around $1 per order5.

Just Eat’s current financial scale, reporting gross transaction value of €26.4 billion in 2023, provides the operational volume needed to justify significant automation investments6.