Looking like the lovechild of Disney's Wall-E and Eve, the "Domino's Robotic Unit", or DRU, is a prototype developed for the retailer by Australian defense contractor Marathon Robotics.
But wait, it gets creepier.
Meet #DRU - Our newest team member and the world's first autonomous #pizza delivery vehicle! #MoreThanJustPizza pic.twitter.com/KFAltOBuko
โ Domino's New Zealand (@dominos_NZ) March 17, 2016
Using this military technology, combined with its own GPS tracking systems, the robot uses LIDAR, the same technology in self-driving cars, which one researcher has shown can be hacked.
Dominos using robots to deliver their pizza.C'mon, who wants something so artificial, cold, & rigid sent to their home?Also a robot.
โ Erik Bransteen (@erikbransteen) March 18, 2016
@Knepherbird A robot that force feeds you Dominos is the worst dystopian future I have yet come across.
โ Kolby Kuwitzky (@kolbykuwitzky) March 18, 2016
DRU is able to travel within a radius of 20 miles from a restaurant's location, where it can be tracked, reach speeds of up to 20kph and is able to traverse footpaths and trails, using lasers to navigate around obstacles along the way.
The four-wheeled robot consists of cold and heated compartments and the ability to carry 10 pizzas at once, with the recipient entering a unique code to release the pizza.
"How many people will lose their jobs as delivery drivers?" commented one YouTube user, raising the much-discussed issue of low pay at a number of pizza chains.
Laughing now Channel 9 today show about Dominos robot delivery. Ignoring all the low skilled jobs that will be lost by autonomous vehicles
โ Stuart (@StmacR) March 17, 2016
Having discussed the finer points of robot pizza delivery w Dominos mgmt, I can confirm I still have no idea why it is necessary.
โ Alex Ashton (@AlexGPAshton) March 18, 2016
Numerous petitions in the UK claimed delivery drivers are paid as little as ยฃ4 per hour and an additional ยฃ1 compensation to cover 14 mile journeys. Workers also said they were earning "negative wages" due to what staff described as illegal deductions.
One former employee told BBC the chain took money from him to cover the cost of buying and insuring the car he was using to deliver pizzas.
A similar issue was raised in 2015 by staff at competitors Pizza Hut in Australia, who said some franchises were using"sham" contracts to underpay delivery drivers.
A number of restaurants were reported to be paying as little as AU$10 per hour, which is up to AU$15 less than it should be, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Labor union news Domino's Franchisees Settle Wage Theft Investigation In New York For $448... http://t.co/rb6bjXpZGU
โ Unions.Org (@UnionsOrg) August 8, 2014
Domino's Pizza CEO J. Patrick Doyle got $43m in past three years while 23 Domino's in NY admitted to wage theft http://t.co/9qYRk3iumB
โ Alyssa (@alyssa011968) June 2, 2014
Lol,as if it is about to do harmless things like delivering Pizza,what a cheap parody.What a poor joke to lure people into accepting robots.
Robots as always is the case with inventions like these, are/will be made to do harm, to kill and prey on people.
You can bet it will be used as a weapon,a murder and kill machine that is the main purpose.You can bet on
One good example for what purpose those robots are really meant for:[Link] [Link]