Uber and robotics company, Cartken, have partnered on food deliveries via automated robots in Miami.
Both companies now operate with select merchants in the Dadeland area of Miami-Dade County with plans to expand in Miami-Dade and to additional cities in 2023. The artificial intelligence-powered sidewalk delivery robots are used for neighborhood food and grocery delivery, campus meal delivery, and curbside pickup across the country. Uber Eats will be its first formal partnership with a global delivery app outside of college campuses.
"We are excited about how this partnership with Uber will bring the advantages of robotics to food delivery—and ultimately create more connected communities," said Christian Bersch, co-founder and CEO at Cartken, in a statement. "Together, we have the opportunity to reduce traffic congestion, help local merchants to increase delivery capacity, and bring consumers fast, convenient, and emission-free deliveries."
Uber's partnership with Cartken is an expansion of the company's efforts to tap into automated and autonomous technology to improve processes.
"Miami is a thriving Uber Eats market and we are excited to bring its residents a little more Uber magic through sidewalk robot delivery," said Noah Zych, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber, in a statement. "Our partnership with Cartken marks another important milestone for our efforts in automated and autonomous technology and will provide greater reliability and affordability to Miami merchants and consumers."
Uber Eat partners with 870,000 merchants in over 11,000 cities globally to provide services.
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Image: Cartken