A peculiar vehicle has been circulating since Friday in the Spandauer Damm neighborhood. It looks like an oversized cooler, has two headlights that look like eyes, and is packed with modern tech. Here the pizza robot delivers!
Daniel Richart (38) worked on the software with his team for eight years. The qualified physicist is the CEO of the Berlin company Teraki. The company with 50 employees is specialized in autonomous driving.
“Of the robot it doesn’t replace employees,” says Richart. “It’s an extra offer. A lot of delivery services have trouble finding people.”
The delivery robot (costs less than 50,000 euros) moves independently through the Charlottenburger trails The area of operation is approximately one kilometer from the Domino’s pizza delivery service branch. When the customer arrives, they have to enter a numerical code to open the loading zone.
Four cameras, four radar devices, a lidar scanner and four ultrasonic sensors ensure a safe journey. The vehicle should automatically recognize obstacles and red lights.
There is room for ten pizzas. Maximum speed: 6km/h. The vehicle takes about ten minutes to travel one kilometer. The robot learns with each meter of travel.
It is the first delivery robot to have the necessary permits to operate in public spaces, which makes it the only robot in Germanywho works on the sidewalks and not in a closed area.
A remote-controlled employee still has to accompany the robot. In an emergency, he can intervene. Daniel Richart expects approval for fully autonomous operation to be granted no later than June.
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