Dubai shows off robot takeaway driver making 100 deliveries a week


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

A fleet of self-driving robots are delivering roughly 100 food orders per week to Dubai homes.

One of the delivery bots was put on display for global transport bosses at a summit in Barcelona, Spain.

Dignitaries at the exhibition were told how the small Road and Transport Authority vehicles navigate roads while delivering orders from Dubai malls to homes in pilot areas.

A three-month trial that started in February proved successful, with the robots now running a regular service in selected communities.

Sergei Kirillov from Self Driving Group, which made the vehicle’s robotics, said the plan was to expand the project into more areas.

“The next stage is to get more vendors on board. Currently, we are making 100 deliveries per week and we want to expand more,” Mr Kirillov told The National.

He said the robots were perfectly suited for more remote areas where couriers might be unwilling to ride for a single job.

The A-307 robot toured the halls of the Barcelona summit, where industry bosses were looking to the future of self-driving transport.

It was shown to Saudi transport boss Khalid Alhogail, the outgoing president of the International Association of Public Transport, and the body’s Tunisian secretary-general Mohamed Mezghani.

A delivery robot picking up an order from Starbucks to take to Dubai Silicon Oasis. Pawan Singh / The National
A delivery robot picking up an order from Starbucks to take to Dubai Silicon Oasis. Pawan Singh / The National

Data from the trial showed the Dubai robot ran autonomously 97 per cent of the time, with humans stepping in when the pavement was blocked.

A team to fix a faulty robot can be sent if needed, but this has not been required so far.

Similar robots to those in Dubai are in operation in the US, South Korea and Israel.

The device runs on pavements but can handle thousands of road crossings every day and navigate cars and motorcycles, said Mr Kirillov.

“The system is very advanced because originally it was developed for managing self-driving cars on roads at high speeds,” he said.

“Then we just moved this system into a smaller body, which probably makes the robot the most advanced delivery robot that actually exists.”

Dubai transport bosses told the summit of their plans to make zero-emission buses the norm by 2050 and bring flying taxis to the emirate in 2026.

Mattar Al Tayer, the RTA’s director general and chairman, said Dubai had a “vision of being the world leader in seamless and sustainable mobility”.

“Let us continue to work together to create a cleaner, safer and sustainable future for ourselves and future generations,” he told delegates at the summit's opening ceremony.

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Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

RESULT

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal:
Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87') 

Results

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s

3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s

5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s

7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004

8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100

9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692

10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,

TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

Terminator: Dark Fate

Director: Tim Miller

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis 

Rating: 3/5

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Everybody%20Loves%20Touda
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Racecard

5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m

6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m

6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m

7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m

7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m

8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m

8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m

9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m

10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m

Company%20Profile
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Match info

Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')

West Ham United 0

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While you're here
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers

1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Updated: June 05, 2023, 1:24 PM`