The top requirement for us when getting pizzas delivered is that they're still piping hot upon arrival. Pizza Hut's newest delivery model will drastically decrease that time by utilizing a truck that makes the pizzas for you while en route.
Photo courtesy of Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut just unveiled the high-tech pickup truck as a collab with Toyota at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Marketing Association Show (SEMA). The pickup itself is zero-emission, running on a hydrogen fuel electric cell that powers both the engine and the oven. In a press release, the company describes the vehicle concept almost like an Uber driver whose car makes the pizzas once the delivery is requested.
As soon as you put in an order, robots in the back of the pickup will take a pre-made "raw" pizza out of a fridge and insert it into an oven, baking it to perfection within 6-7 minutes. It'll then be sliced up, placed into a box, and ready for you to grab once the truck pulls up to your location.
Photo courtesy of Pizza Hut
The idea is that this will sharply decrease driving times but also increase where a truck can deliver pizza, too. One truck can essentially service an entire area for hours on end without having to return back to a nearby restaurant. It's only constraints would be the amount of pizzas it can carry and the need to recharge.
It's unclear exactly when these pickups will be used for actual deliveries, since the one debuted at the show was a prototype. However, when it is unleashed to the public, it'll definitely change the speed of pizza delivery as we know it.
