Yelp Eat24 Launches Robot Delivery Program In San Francisco

The future of meal delivery is here, America.

Yelp Eat24 has teamed up with autonomous ground-delivery robot maker Marble to create its first fleet of meal delivery robots.

The fleet will be released into San Francisco starting April 12th, where participating restaurants in the Mission and Potrero Hill Districts will be able to utilize the robots to deliver food to their customers.

The robots were made with a variety of sensors and technology similar to that of self-driving cars, which allows them to safely navigate busy sidewalks with ease. They can also map streets as they travel throughout the city to optimize delivery time and transportation routes. Marble plans to have the entire city of San Francisco mapped by the robots by the end of 2017.

“We are always looking for innovative new ways to give diners what they want: efficient and affordable food delivery,” said Shalin Sheth, Head of Delivery Operations at Yelp Eat24. “Marble’s robots help Yelp Eat24 restaurants better serve their communities and we’re excited to enhance the delivery experience for customers and be able to serve a larger market.”

Customers who order from participating local restaurants can order through the Eat24 app and will have the option to have a robot deliver them their meal. Their orders will be placed into adaptable cargo bays within the robot by the restaurant that are locked with a code, which is then sent to the customer to input on the robot for access to their eats.

Marble will be expanding their delivery robot fleet to new restaurants and delivery partners each month, and hope to eventually expand their service nationwide.

When that happens, you can count on these robots swarming everywhere as the new way to get your food delivered.