Serve Robotics takes its sidewalk robots abroad for the first time, with DoorDash on the Gold Coast

Serve Robotics and DoorDash said in a joint press release on Oct 29 that DoorDash customers on Australia's Gold Coast can now have meals delivered by a Serve sidewalk robot. It is the first footpath robot delivery service in Australia, according to the companies, and the first time Serve has operated outside the United States.

The launch is small. One restaurant, Gnocchi Gnocchi in Southport, takes part on day one, and more local restaurants are to join "in the coming weeks". The service area is the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, which its director said is home to more than 3,000 residents and 20,000 students. The release does not give the number of robots, the delivery radius, operating hours or the permit under which the robots use public footpaths.

How the pilot is set up

The robots travel at walking pace, give way to pedestrians and are backed by trained remote supervisors, the companies said. Each robot shows a phone number for members of the public. Customers can opt in or out of robot delivery in the DoorDash app. At the end of each shift the fleet returns to Serve's operations depot at Griffith University, which the release calls the first university to host a Serve operations team; the two are discussing internships in robotics, autonomy operations and field engineering. The City of Gold Coast backed the launch through Invest Gold Coast.

Serve chief executive Ali Kashani said the company has delivered for more than 4,500 restaurants in the US. DoorDash framed the pilot as part of its multi-modal delivery strategy, with robots taking short trips in dense areas and Dashers keeping longer orders.