Autonomous pizza delivery cars put to the test in the US
Domino’s and Ford have teamed up to learn more on the role self-driving cars can play in pizza delivery
Ford and Domino’s have teamed up to learn more about how autonomous vehicles could be used in the pizza delivery process.
Randomly selected customers in the US city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be offered the opportunity to receive their Domino’s pizza via a self-driving Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle.
While the cars will not actually be driving themselves, researchers will analyse how customers react to having to leave their homes and collect their pizza from the vehicle.
Russell Weiner, president of Domino’s USA, said: “We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery.
“The majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience. For instance, how will customers react to coming outside to get their food? We need to make sure the interface is clear and simple. We need to understand if a customer’s experience is different if the car is parked in the driveway versus next to the kerb.
“All of our testing research is focused on our goal to some day make deliveries with self-driving vehicles as seamless and customer-friendly as possible.”
Customers will receive updates of the delivery vehicle’s progress via text message, and will receive a unique code to unlock the Domino’s Heatwave Compartment – designed to keep the pizza warm – when the car arrives.
Patrick Doyle, Domino’s president and CEO, said: “As delivery experts, we’ve been watching the development of self-driving vehicles with great interest as we believe transportation is undergoing fundamental, dramatic change.
“We pride ourselves on being technology leaders and are excited to help lead research into how self-driving vehicles may play a role in the future of pizza delivery. This is the first step in an ongoing process of testing that we plan to undertake with Ford.”
Ford vice-president of autonomous and electric vehicles Sherif Marakby added: “As we increase our understanding of the business opportunity for self-driving vehicles to support the movement of people and goods, we’re pleased to have Domino’s join us in this important part of the development process.
“As a company focused on the customer experience, Domino’s shares our vision for a future enabled by smart vehicles in a smart environment that enhance people’s lives.”
