{"id":118641,"date":"2017-08-29T11:35:54","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T15:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=118641"},"modified":"2017-08-29T11:35:54","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T15:35:54","slug":"skip-the-tip-dominos-ford-team-up-to-test-driverless-pizza-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2017\/08\/skip-the-tip-dominos-ford-team-up-to-test-driverless-pizza-delivery\/","title":{"rendered":"Skip the Tip: Domino\u2019s, Ford Team Up to Test Driverless Pizza Delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ford and Domino's are partnering in a test program to deliver pizzas using autonomous vehicles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ford and Domino\u2019s are teaming up to test out the idea of using autonomous vehicles for home delivery of the fast food chain\u2019s pizzas. The project, which will be run in Domino\u2019s hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is aimed at gaining insight into how hungry customers will react when a delivery truck shows up without a driver behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, there\u2019ll be no tipping. And customers will learn when their pizza\u2019s delivered by text, rather than a ring of the doorbell. But that means they\u2019ll have to go outside and punch a code into keypad to retrieve their hot pies.<\/p>\n

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We Keep You in the Know!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe majority of our questions\u201d that Domino\u2019s has been fielding about the service \u201care about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience,\u201d said Domino\u2019s President Russell Weiner.<\/p>\n

While driverless deliveries might be welcomed by those in sunny California, the question is how customers will respond when they have to get dressed up to go outside in a Michigan snowstorm, or even in the heavy rains that hit the region on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

(Uber makes surprise pick for CEO. To\u00a0see whom the board selected, <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Domino\u2019s interest in driverless delivery should be no surprise. The vast majority of its sales \u2013 about 1 billion pizza pies annually \u2013 must be delivered to customers\u2019 homes or offices. The second-largest pizza chain in the world, with global sales of around $10.9 billion in 2016, the company says its drivers clock about 10 million miles a week. Even at minimum wage, the 100,000 drivers it uses in the U.S. alone weigh heavily on the company\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

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Customers must punch a code into a keypad on the delivery vehicle to get their order from the heated storage area on the vehicle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Domino\u2019s has been looking at other alternatives to take drivers out of the equation, including drone delivery.<\/p>\n

The driverless test will run for six weeks, taking it into cooler autumn weather, but not into a Michigan winter.<\/p>\n

Deliveries will be made by a specially outfitted Ford Fusion using radar, cameras and high-definition laser devices, called LIDAR, as well as highly detailed 3D maps. Technically, there actually will be a person behind the wheel of the prototype delivery vehicles \u2013 a Ford engineer monitoring the operation of the test cars. But the windows of the vehicles will be blacked out and there will be no direct interaction with customers.<\/p>\n

Instead, once the customer receives a text alert they will be asked to go outside and punch a code into a keypad mounted on the car. That will open up a rear window allowing them to reach inside and remove their order. Each vehicle is equipped with a heated compartment that can carry up to four pizzas and five side dishes.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for details about Waymo’s ongoing testing program.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ford uses the Focus for its autonomous delivery service for Domino's.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re developing a self-driving car not just for the sake of technology,\u201d said Sherif Marakby, the vice president in charge of Ford\u2019s autonomous and electric vehicle program. \u201cThere are so many practical things that we need to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford last year announced plans to launch production of its first fully driverless vehicle in 2021, emphasizing that it will target fleet users, rather than retail customers. It is already rolling out a phalanx of autonomous prototypes, like the Fusion models Domino\u2019s is using, to help develop its technology. The second-largest domestic automaker said it plans to work \u201cwith multiple partners\u201d on similar projects that will be \u201cdesigned to improve the movement of people and goods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford and Domino\u2019s are by no means the only ones interested in commercial applications for autonomous and fully driverless vehicles:<\/p>\n