Robots could soon be delivering takeout in Downtown Vancouver if city council approves the pilot project.
In 2022, robots Hugo, Raja and Angie briefly delivered for Pizza Hut in Vancouver’s West End.
Now, new and improved versions could be back after trials in California.
“If you go down to L.A. as the first market that, you know, we’ve now spent quite a few years, I think what you would be surprised with the most is how normal this is,” Ali Kashani, the founder of Serve Robotics, said.
“It’s just part of the fabric of life there, the robots are doing their thing, you know, most people are completely indifferent.”
Kashani is from Vancouver, and his early interest in engineering and robot development began there.
Last year, the company expanded to 20 U.S. cities, partnering with 3,500 restaurants.
Get daily National news
Kashani assures everyone that robots will not replace human workers.
“Our robots can’t do all their deliveries,” he said.
“They do deliveries that are short distance in very dense urban environments with a lot of parking issues and traffic issues. These are not very desirable deliveries for gig workers.
The company needs approval from Vancouver’s city council for a six-month pilot project.
Councillor Mike Klassen said he will introduce the motion this week, saying it could drive economic development.
“Vancouver wants to be seen as a city that embraces innovation and new technology and I think that this could be a way for us to be leaders in the country,” he said.
Kashani said that 99.8 per cent of robot deliveries are successful.
“We’ve been waiting for robots to show up in our lives for so long, in … sci-fi movies or whatever. I think it’s a missed opportunity for us not to have a little bit of fun as we are doing this and make this something that people actually want to see around them,” he said.
If approved on Wednesday, the robots could start deliveries downtown and in Kitsilano in the fall.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.