The American company launched this new technology on Wednesday in Japan, where the delivery sector is severely understaffed as demand explodes.
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After the United States, Uber Eats is extending the use of delivery robots to Japan, a country where this type of machine should multiply in the streets of Japanese megacities given the difficulties encountered by the delivery sector, where respect promised hours is an obligation while staff is lacking.
Until now, on the streets of Tokyo, pedestrians were used to hearing trucks tell them “Be careful, I’m turning right”. From now on, he will also pay attention to this new warning: “Beware of the robot”.
On Wednesday, deliveries of meals prepared by Uber Eats began in the Japanese capital with small robots, small green carts whose trunk is an insulated box. “Uber Eats delivery service with robots debuts in Japan, explains an Uber Eats representative. We will thus further improve our service so that in Japan too, everyone can immediately receive what they want, when they want.”
Controlled by a remote operator
The use of robots in Japan is almost inevitable in a country where there is a significant shortage of labor in the distribution and delivery sectors, and where demand is growing.
The law was amended in April 2023 to allow this type of robot to circulate. Their size is regulated and their speed of movement limited to 6 km/h. However, the word robot is a bit misused here, because even if it is equipped with obstacle recognition and avoidance technologies, for safety reasons, the law requires that it be controlled by a remote operator.
