Grubhub partners with Avride for the future of food delivery - The Robot Report

Grubhub has partnered with startup Avride to expand the use of autonomous delivery robots beyond college campuses to urban environments, beginning with a pilot program in Jersey City. This follows Avride’s deployment of 100 delivery robots at various North American college campuses, including a large-scale operation at Ohio State University, where over 120 robots complete up to 1,600 deliveries daily during peak times. The Ohio State deployment demonstrated the ability of autonomous delivery to handle high-volume orders reliably and safely. However, operating in a dense urban setting like Jersey City presents new challenges such as navigating mixed traffic, pedestrians, narrow sidewalks, and construction, which Avride addresses through high-resolution mapping and adaptive routing systems. The partnership, initiated a year after Wonder’s acquisition of Grubhub, aims to combine Grubhub’s marketplace, Wonder’s culinary innovation, and Avride’s robotics to enhance delivery convenience while promoting sustainability and safety. Delivery robots are expected to reduce carbon emissions by replacing traditional vehicle trips with electric-powered alternatives