Economy & Tech

Uber Eats Robot Delivery Service Coming to Nihonbashi Area

From March 6, Uber Eats will expand service in central Tokyo, and eventually to areas facing a shortage of delivery personnel or in sparsely populated regions.

Published

2 months ago

March 6, 2024

The Sankei Shimbun

An autonomous robot delivering food uses the crosswalk to cross the street as it demonstrates its skill to the press in central Tokyo on March 5. (© Sankei by by Kanata Iwasaki)

Uber Eats Japan (Uber Japan Co, Ltd.), the food delivery service, will roll out its autonomous robot delivery service on sidewalks in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo on Wednesday, March 6.

Japan is Uber's second country to launch robot delivery services, following the United States. Initially, the service will expand in central Tokyo. Plans anticipate extending the service into areas facing a shortage of delivery personnel or in sparsely populated regions.

In a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, March 5, Uber Eats Japan, Mitsubishi Electric, and US startup Cartken conducted a demonstration of the robot in action in the Nihonbashi area. It delivered bento from a tonkatsu restaurant to an office building.

Developed by Cartken, the robot is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), adapted to Japanese specifications by Mitsubishi Electric, and can be accessed through the Uber app. The robot has dimensions of 71 cm in length, 46 cm in width, and 60 cm in height, with a maximum load capacity of 20 kilograms and a maximum speed of approximately 5 kilometers per hour.

*As Uber Eats prepares to begin its new service, an autonomous robot delivering food is demonstrated to the press in Tokyo on March 5. (© Sankei by by Kanata Iwasaki)*

Seeing the Robot at Work

According to Uber, the robot will temporarily stop when pedestrians approach. It is constantly monitored by dedicated operators, and in emergencies, it can report to emergency services and be attended to by standby staff.

Regarding this new service, Alvin Oo, market operations director at Uber Eats Japan, expressed the view that "it will be a system that complements labor shortages, particularly in light of challenges in 2024, this service holds a crucial role in filling essential gaps."