Food delivery robots in Markham test appetite for high-tech takeout

The next time you order takeout in Markham, Ont., it could get dropped off by a robot and its human companion.

A fleet of orange food delivery machines is being tested as part of a pilot project led by Skip, formerly known as SkipTheDishes, and Real Life Robotics, an automation company under the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator called Velocity.

The project is the first municipally approved sidewalk delivery operation in the country, and it’s already had hundreds of successful orders, says Cameron Waite, CEO of Real Life Robotics.

“That’s a big deal for us. It’s a big deal for Canada … the opportunity is potentially huge,” Waite told CBC Toronto.

It’s one of the latest initiatives across Ontario and beyond that’s testing the viability of integrating more automation into people’s daily lives.

Waite says the three-month pilot aims to decipher whether there’s an appetite for robot delivery options in urban environments, and what that could look like.

The order process is simple. If a customer orders through the Skip app and is located in the piloting area, they’ll be given an option to select robot delivery.

From there the process is automated. The “cooler on wheels” is programmed to go to the restaurant, collect the order and drop it off with the customers, Waite says. To get the order, the buyer will scan a QR code and enter their password to unlock the robot.

The machines are equipped with sensors that give them spatial awareness and, for now, each one is accompanied by a human guide responsible for studying its interactions with pedestrians and users.

Markham is “proud to be at the forefront of smart mobility innovation,” the city told Radio-Canada in a statement.

“This initiative provides a real-world testing environment for Ontario-based companies to pilot next-generation transportation technologies,” the statement says.

Concerns about safety and comfort 

Not every city or everyone is excited about the prospect of robot delivery options.

In December 2021, Toronto banned the use of micro-utility devices, which includes food delivery robots, on its sidewalks and bike lanes, in response to concerns about maintaining accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities.

While safety might be manageable, as these kinds of robots travel at low speeds, a bigger issue is comfort and how robots share space with pedestrians, says Bilal Farooq, an associate professor in transportation engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

“They need to have not just perception, but they should have social awareness of what other pedestrians are doing,” he said.

For example, Farooq says, the robots should be able to sense whether there are multiple people walking toward it and know to travel around them, not through them. That kind of awareness is something currently being discussed in studies, he says.

“These sort of pilots are a good way to test and apply that research,” Farooq said.

Impacts on employment ‘going to happen,’ prof says

Another concern is whether these robots will get so popular that they start to replace workers. 

Automation has been happening over the last few centuries and it’s likely to impact food delivery eventually, says Harry Holzer, professor of public policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

“It seems to me that it’s going to happen,” Holzer said. “It’s not hard to envision that robots will do this more cheaply and more cost-effectively.”

When asked about the decision to opt for robots instead of people, Waite said the pilot is about learning what the consumer prefers. 

“The idea here is to figure out, ‘Is there value in having an additional option for deliveries in areas like this?” he said.

According to a new release by the University of Waterloo, Real Life Robotics is aiming to roll out up to 500 robots nationwide within the next three years.