Serve Robotics, known for its sidewalk robots delivering food for Uber Eats, has announced an exciting partnership with Wing Aviation, a subsidiary of Alphabet, to incorporate drone deliveries into its operations. This collaboration, unveiled on Tuesday, aims to extend Serve’s delivery range to over six miles in a pilot program launching in Dallas, Texas.
In this innovative setup, Serve’s robots will pick up food from local restaurants and transfer it to Wing’s drones for aerial delivery. This marks Serve’s first foray into drone delivery, building on its existing operations primarily in Los Angeles, where it serves clients like 7-Eleven and Shake Shack.
CEO Ali Kashani emphasized that this multi-modal delivery approach would enable rapid, 30-minute autonomous deliveries throughout the city, enhancing customer convenience.
While drones have often been hailed as the future of delivery services, their widespread adoption has faced challenges, particularly the lack of designated takeoff and landing zones in urban settings. In contrast, sidewalk robots are uniquely designed to navigate city streets, making them a more feasible option for last-mile deliveries.
Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing, expressed optimism about the partnership, stating, “Through this pilot, Wing hopes to reach more merchants in highly congested areas while supporting Serve as it expands its delivery radius.”
Serve, which was spun off from Postmates in 2021 after its acquisition by Uber, assured merchants that they would not need to modify their current workflows or facilities to accommodate the new robot-to-drone delivery system.
Wing, which originated as a project within Google X, has already completed over 400,000 commercial deliveries across three continents, showcasing its experience and potential in the drone delivery space.
As the pilot program rolls out in Dallas, it will be interesting to see how this collaboration between Serve Robotics and Wing could shape the future of food delivery and expand the possibilities of autonomous transportation.
