Meet Dot, the autonomous delivery robot launched by US food delivery app DoorDash: Here’s all we know

DoorDash Inc., the largest food delivery platform in the United States, unveiled its autonomous delivery robot called Dot, that can carry around 14 kg and travel at 32/km per hour. In an event on September 29, co-founder Stanley Tang unveiled the red vehicle, that he said the company has been building over the past few years.

“Over the past few years, DoorDash Labs has been building one of the most sophisticated autonomy stacks designed for the real-world challenges of local delivery,” Tang wrote on X. He also posted a video which generated a host of reactions and comments.

Meet Dot: First commercial autonomous delivery robot to…

According to Tang, Dot is the “first commercial autonomous delivery robot to travel on bike lanes, roads, and sidewalks”.

“At one-tenth the size of a car reaching speeds of up to 20 mph, Dot is purpose-built for local commerce. Together with our new Autonomous Delivery Platform, Dot is the next step toward a more efficient, sustainable, and accessible delivery ecosystem for everyone,” he added.

Dot, what we know: Features, development, more

• According to a Bloomberg report, DoorDash unveiled Dot and a smart scale for restaurants, showcasing the company’s years-long effort to develop hardware.
• Dot is a four-wheeled autonomous robot that stands 4-foot, 6-inches tall and uses a combination of external cameras, radars and lidar sensors on top of and below its storage compartment to perceive and navigate its surroundings, it added.
• It is one-tenth the size of a car and nimble enough to navigate through doorways and driveways, but big enough to fit six large pizza boxes and can carry up to 30 pounds (around 14 kg) of cargo, it added.
• As per the company, Dot can travel as fast as 20 miles per hour (32 km/hour) on bike lanes, sidewalks and roads. The speed and numbers were calculated during DoorDash’s early access program for some restaurants in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona.
• It claims Dot is “faster than the maximum speeds of sidewalk robots programmed by its partner, Coco Robotics, and Uber Eats’ partner Serve Robotics Inc”.
• Dot is an electric robot that uses a swappable battery that can hold as much as six hours a charge.
• It is rounder in shape to comparable robots, and was inspired by the D-shaped logo of the company.
• It opens up from the front like a baby stroller.
• Ashu Rege, vice president of autonomy at DoorDash told Bloomberg TV that they are still in the process of discussing where Dot will be manufactured and source components for the robot.
• The company did not comment on the number of Dot vehicles it already has in its fleet, but said there are plans to expand commercially, the report added.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)