Domino’s collaborates with Nuro on test launch of autonomous pizza delivery

Global pizza giant Domino’s and Nuro, a top self-driving delivery company, are launching a test autonomous pizza delivery vehicle in Houston, Texas, the companies announced on Monday.

Beginning this week, select customers who place a pre-paid order through the Domino’s website on certain days and times from the Domino’s in Woodland Heights, located at 3209 Houston Ave., can choose to have their pizza delivered by Nuro’s R2 robot.

Nuro’s R2 is the first completely autonomous, occupantless on-road delivery vehicle with a regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

This collaboration between Domino’s and Nuro will introduce an entirely new delivery experience to pizza lovers.

How it works

Select customers who place a pre-paid website order from the participating Domino’s store can opt to have their pizza delivered by R2. Customers who are selected will receive text alerts, which will update them on R2’s location and provide them with a unique PIN to retrieve their order.

Customers may also track the vehicle via GPS tracking on their order confirmation page. Once R2 arrives, customers will be prompted to enter their PIN on the bot’s touchscreen. R2’s doors will then gently open upward, revealing the customer’s hot Domino’s pizza, the companies said in a joint statement.

“We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer.

“There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations,” Maloney added. “The growing demand for great-tasting pizza creates the need for more deliveries, and we look forward to seeing how autonomous delivery can work along with Domino’s existing delivery experts to better support the customers’ needs.”

Nuro notes of itself that its mission is to better everyday life through robotics. The company’s custom autonomous vehicles are designed to bring the things customers, from produce to prescriptions, right to the home.

“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”