Foodpanda, one of the world's most popular food delivery companies, is exploring the possibility of leveraging robots for deliveries.

The company has partnered with 3 Singapore-based startup companies in the autonomous robotics space.

Key Highlights

• Foodpanda has partnered with autonomous robotic startups: Whizz Mobility, Otsaw, and Neolix to pilot autonomous robot deliveries.
  
• Robots from these 3 startup companies will provide additional support to help Foodpanda's riders complete last-mile deliveries.
• The robots will make life easier for riders during peak hours and bad weather conditions, as well as accessing difficult locations.

Why It Matters

• The global pandemic has pushed many companies to move towards "contactless technologies", especially the use of robotics.
  
• Last month, Foodpanda rival Grab announced that it was piloting a "robot runner service" to ease the consolidation of orders from restaurants in Singapore.
• The possibility of more autonomous robots handling operational tasks such as deliveries could increase in the coming years.
• The emergence of more autonomous robots could significantly reduce the reliance on people to complete mechanical tasks.