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Freebirds and Now Cuisine partner to develop robotic kiosks to serve hot meals

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Restaurant technology developer Now Cuisine and the Freebirds burrito company are partnering to build robotic kiosks that serve hot meals.

Now Cuisine and Freebirds World Burrito say the pilot program will be available at new locations throughout the Dallas area using Now Cuisine’s robotic Takeout Stations.

Now Cuisine’s Takeout Stations are compact, fully-automated, AI-enabled kiosks that can be placed nearly anywhere to serve freshly made-to-order hot meals in minutes, 24/7. Freebirds has issued a purchase order to Now Cuisine which will allow its food to be served in multiple Takeout Stations in Texas as part of the pilot. [Read more…] about Freebirds and Now Cuisine partner to develop robotic kiosks to serve hot meals

Delivery robot startup Serve Robotics raises $13 million in seed funding round

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Serve Robotics, an autonomous sidewalk delivery robot company, has closed a $13 million expanded seed funding round.

The companies participating were strategic investors Uber Technologies; Delivery Hero backed DX Ventures; 7-Eleven’s corporate venture arm, 7-Ventures; and Wavemaker Partners’ food automation focused venture studio Wavemaker Labs.

The new round extends Serve’s previous seed funding and includes participation by existing seed investors Neo, Western Technology Investment, and Scott Banister among others. [Read more…] about Delivery robot startup Serve Robotics raises $13 million in seed funding round

Serve Robotics provides delivery robots to Uber Eats

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Serve Robotics, a developer of sidewalk delivery robots, is partnering with Uber Technologies, which is said to be the world’s largest food delivery and ridesharing platform.

The on-demand robotic delivery service will be available to Uber Eats customers starting in Los Angeles early next year.

Serve Robotics says it is “shaping the future of sustainable, self-driving delivery”. Founded in 2017 as the robotics division of Postmates, Serve is now an independent company on a mission to make delivery more affordable, sustainable and accessible for everyone. [Read more…] about Serve Robotics provides delivery robots to Uber Eats

German online grocer opts for Geek+ warehouse robots

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Geek+, a provider of autonomous mobile robots for warehouses, has been selected by myEnso, a German-based online grocery supplier, to upgrade the company’s distribution center for fast moving consumer goods with a goods-to-person robotics solution.

Having received governmental support and financing, the robotics-driven e-commerce platform will enable regional producers, startups, as well as well-known brands to connect and serve online shoppers all over Germany.

Jackson Zhang, vice president of Geek+ Europe, says: “We are excited to see myEnso join our growing European customer base and view the project as the beginning of an extensive cooperation that will enable them to streamline logistics operations and better serve their online customers. [Read more…] about German online grocer opts for Geek+ warehouse robots

Walmart begins to scale local fulfillment centers

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Walmart, the world’s largest supermarket chain, has started to scale its local fulfillment centers in the apparent belief that highly automated micro-warehouses are the way to go. 

The company has been working with a range of robotics companies on changing many aspects of its operation, and Alphabot (main picture) is one of the robots it has been testing.

Brian Roth, senior manager of pickup automation and digital operations for Walmart US, says: “With Alphabot, our associates should be able to put even more focus on helping the customer.” [Read more…] about Walmart begins to scale local fulfillment centers

Columbia-Okura agrees strategic relationship with Integra Systems Brazil

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Columbia-Okura and Integra Systems have agreed a partnership that will allow Integra Systems to produce the complete line of Columbia-Okura robotic palletizers in Brazil.

This milestone achievement follows a similar agreement reached in 2020 between Integra Systems and Columbia Machine.

Columbia-Okura has been working with Integra since 2014. The execution of these recent license agreements reflects Columbia Machine’s and Columbia-Okura’s ongoing confidence and strategic relationship with Integra Systems. [Read more…] about Columbia-Okura agrees strategic relationship with Integra Systems Brazil

Merck and Volansi launch commercial drone service to deliver cold-chain medicines in rural North Carolina

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Volansi, a drone company specializing in medical logistics, has launched a commercial healthcare drone delivery project in North Carolina.

In collaboration with pharmaceuticals and biotech giant Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada, Volansi is piloting the delivery of cold-chain medicines from Merck’s Wilson, North Carolina manufacturing site to Vidant Healthplex-Wilson, a Vidant Health clinic, as the first of three phases in a project to learn about drone technology’s role and ability to improve access to healthcare.

With 1.4 million people across 29 counties, eastern North Carolina’s vast, rural environment can create challenges for accessing care. Initial flights in the project resulted in the first drone delivery of temperature-controlled medicines within the US. [Read more…] about Merck and Volansi launch commercial drone service to deliver cold-chain medicines in rural North Carolina

Postmates chooses Ouster lidar for autonomous delivery rover

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Delivery firm Postmates has selected the Ouster OS1 lidar sensor for use in its Serve autonomous delivery rover, which is being deployed in Los Angeles.

The Ouster OS1 lidar enables Serve to navigate pavements, detect pedestrians, and interact with the community.

The rover combines Postmates’ Socially-Aware-Navigation system and Ouster’s multi-beam flash lidar architecture to give a new platform for on-demand commerce.

[Read more…] about Postmates chooses Ouster lidar for autonomous delivery rover