This spring, Austinites traveling along city sidewalks may see a new device moving alongside them. Coco, a food delivery service, has partnered with local Austin restaurants to deliver orders to customers using Coco’s sidewalk delivery robots. The robots began operating in Austin in February.
The robots, which travel at speeds of up to five miles per hour, weigh less than 100 pounds and are big enough to fit an 18-inch pizza box flat. When a restaurant receives a delivery order through its usual channels, the merchant scans a QR code and drops the order into a Coco robot. The device, which a human operates remotely, then carries the order to the customer.
According to the company, Coco robots have delivered thousands of orders without any significant safety incidents. The company started operating in Santa Monica, California, in 2020.
Local restaurant partners in Austin include Bamboo Bistro, Clay Pit, DeSano Pizzeria, Tuk Tuk Thai, and Aviator Pizza.
