Ford and Domino’s have announced road tests for a self-driving pizza delivery service in Michigan.
A fleet of research vehicles will begin deliveries in September as the two firms explore how customers respond to and interact with self-driving cars.
In the coming weeks, Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be given the option to have a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle deliver their pizza.
Ford and Domino’s have announced road tests for a self-driving pizza delivery service in Michigan. A fleet of research vehicles (pictured) will begin deliveries in September as the two firms explore how customers respond to and interact with self-driving cars
The delivery vehicles will initially be piloted by Ford safety engineers with other researchers on board.
Customers will be able to track the delivery process via the Domino’s app and will receive text messages on how to retrieve their pizzas once the delivery has arrived.
The text messages will give customers a unique four-digit code to unlock the car’s so-called Heatwave Compartment, a container that keeps the food warm in the back of the vehicle.
Screens and speakers on the car’s exterior will give users information on how to retrieve their delivery.
A number of start-up delivery services have been experimenting with on-demand delivery of different packages.
Opinion is still divided, however, on whether automation can help solve some major delivery problems, such as how to deliver pizzas to the fifth floor of a college dorm.
The Ford-Domino’s test vehicle will not attempt to resolve that conundrum.
It will stop outside the customer’s house, so it will not provide true door-to-door delivery service.
‘We’re still focused on the last 50 feet,’ said Domino’s spokeswoman Jenny Fouracre.
Customers will be able to track the delivery process via the Domino’s app and will receive text messages on how to retrieve their pizzas once the delivery has arrived. Screens and speakers on the car’s exterior will give users information on how to retrieve their delivery
‘That’s a big challenge – getting (the pizza) from the curb to the door.’
It will not be the first experiment with advanced pizza delivery technology.
Australia-based Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, the Ann Arbor-based company’s largest independent franchisee, has tested delivery to customers in New Zealand via drone and self-driving robot.
In the coming weeks, Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be given the option to have a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle deliver their pizza
In a blog post last week, Sherif Marakby, head of Ford’s autonomous and electric vehicles, hinted at the firm’s broader ambitions.
He said Ford planned to cooperate ‘with multiple partners’ in deploying self-driving vehicles ‘designed to improve the movement of people and goods.’
Previously, Ford executives had said the company expected to launch a self-driving shuttle for commercial ride-sharing fleets in 2021.