Uber Eats is expanding its robot delivery plan to Los Angeles, partnering with Coco. The sidewalk-roaming delivery robot specialist is roaming the streets of LA, delivering food to customers who are ordering from Uber Eats.
The plan is to expand the robotic deliveries to more cities in the coming months, says Smart City Dive.
Greener logistics with robots
This partnership isn’t just about convenience—it’s also a move towards sustainability. According to Noah Zych, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, this is exactly the plan. They want to create a more sustainable and autonomous future for deliveries.
By using Coco’s electric-powered robots, the last mile contributes less to greenhouse emissions while delivering customers’ favorite meals.
Coco and Uber’s history of delivery
Coco is already well-established in LA. Their robots are already serving areas like Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Venice. Coco also has over 1,000 robots working in Finland. Since starting in 2020, they have completed a remarkable over 300,000 zero-emissions deliveries.
Uber Eats has been exploring new opportunities for deliveries with drones for some time now. They teamed up with Serve Robotics to deploy up to 2,000 robots across the US.
The future of robot deliveries
New research by IndustryARC has found that customers are demanding contactless delivery. By 2030, more robots are expected to be equipped with contactless delivery features.
The delivery robots market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% from 2024 to 2030. It’s expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2030, from around $0.5 billion in 2023.
Speedy deliveries are important to retain customers. Businesses are finding technology like robot deliveries helpful to meet customers’ expectations. The competition in retail and food delivery is increasing fast.
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Photo credit: Coco Facebook
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Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
