Love them or hate them, those white cuboids on wheels have snagged more work delivering food in Philadelphia.
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Avride, the Austin-based company that makes the winking delivery robots, announced Wednesday that the bots expanded delivery service to Rittenhouse’s Wonder location. The company did not specify when.
Wonder has made a splash in the region in recent years with its ambitious food hall expansion that aims to offer multiple “fast fine” dining options under one roof. The concept has been described by some as a “dressed up ghost kitchen.” Yet with the backing of celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, José Andrés, and Marcus Samuelsson, Wonder went on to buy the delivery platform Grubhub last year.
That same year, Wonder launched a pilot in one of its locations in Jersey City, N.J., where it introduced autonomous delivery using Avride. About 20% of deliveries were attributed to bots in its first year, according to the company.
Wonder is now incorporating autonomous delivery to more parts of Jersey City and introducing the concept to Hoboken, Arlington County in Virginia, and Philly.
“This expansion reflects our belief that the future of food delivery will be faster, smarter and increasingly powered by technology,” said PJ Poykayil, executive vice president of customer delivery operations at Wonder.
Poykayil added that the company was “unlocking new efficiencies while creating a more seamless experience for customers” with the bots.
The bots, which are powered by artificial intelligence, are designed to make real-time decisions regarding the route they take to deliver food and are designed to navigate the dense urban areas they operate in.
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In Philadelphia, the bots can operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. within parts of Center City, Old City, and Chinatown, bounded by Race, Spruce, 18th, and Front Streets.
An Avride spokesperson said robot delivery is available from 25 Wonder “concepts” at the Rittenhouse location, with an additional nine restaurants on the Grubhub platform also opting in for autonomous delivery.
Avride, which has had a dozen or so bots in Philly streets since March through a partnership with UberEats, did not say whether the deal with Wonder meant more of its robots would be zipping through Philly’s streets or if the robots already in place would absorb new orders. The exact number of robots on the ground would “evolve alongside the needs of the program,” an Avride spokesperson said.
Mixed reception
The arrival of autonomous bots has inspired mixed reactions among Philadelphians.
While following one of the bots for a whole day “shift” this summer, The Inquirer encountered people who empathized whenever a bot appeared to be overwhelmed by passing crowds, spinning in circles, or getting stuck, not knowing what to do when it encountered certain obstacles. Others were less friendly, going so far as to kick and sit on the machines.
At least one person reported being bumped by a delivery bot and complaints of already-busy streets cluttered by stalling machines have sparked calls from a city and state lawmaker for additional legislation to limit their use.
In a statement, an Avride spokesperson said the company takes these concerns seriously, noting representatives continue to meet regularly with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation to share information and address concerns.