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It will not be the first experiment with advanced pizza delivery
technology. Australia-based Domino's Pizza Enterprises, the Ann
Arbor-based company's largest independent franchisee, has tested
delivery to customers in New Zealand via drone and self-driving
robot.
In a blog post last week, Sherif Marakby, head of Ford's
autonomous and electric vehicles, signaled the automaker's
broader ambitions, saying Ford planned to cooperate "with
multiple partners" in deploying self-driving vehicles "designed
to improve the movement of people and goods."
Previously, Ford executives had said the company expected to
launch a self-driving shuttle for commercial ride-sharing fleets
in 2021.
Domino's and Ford will deliver pizzas to randomly selected
customers in the Ann Arbor area in a Ford Fusion Hybrid equipped
with self-driving technology. The delivery vehicles initially
will be piloted by human drivers.
Customers will be able to track the delivery process via GPS and
will receive text messages on how to retrieve their pizzas once
the delivery vehicle has arrived.
A number of start-up delivery services, many of them funded by
venture capital, have been experimenting with on-demand delivery
of different packages, including groceries, prepared food and
beverages. So have larger companies, from Uber Technologies [UBER.UL]
to Amazon.
Opinion is still divided, however, on whether automation can
help solve some vexing delivery problems, such as how to deliver
pizzas economically to the fifth floor of a college dorm.
The Ford-Domino's test vehicle will not attempt to resolve that
conundrum. It will stop outside the customer's house, so it will
not provide true door-to-door delivery service.
"We're still focused on the last 50 feet," said Domino's
spokeswoman Jenny Fouracre. "That's a big challenge - getting
(the pizza) from the curb to the door."
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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