Wendy's Co. is testing new technology not just for taking orders, but also for delivering them.
The Ohio-based restaurant chain on May 17 announced a partnership with Austin-based Pipedream, which will install an underground autonomous robot system to deliver food to customers in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant.
The concept is similar to the capsules that fly through tubes at a bank drive-thru, but Pipedream has plans to develop much more sophisticated — and larger — systems for delivering things in tubes. Air suction isn't what propels Pipedream's conveyances. For a comparison on that, think of the hyperloop concept that Elon Musk has embraced for his autonomous vehicles.
The Wendy's location that will test Pipedream's technology wasn’t announced, but the pilot program will occur later this year.
At Wendy's, customers will place an order via the Wendy’s app and drive to the restaurant. They will park at one of the pickup portals. Their order then will be delivered from the restaurant to that portal through an underground system using autonomous robots.
"We know that serving orders quickly and accurately leads to increased customer satisfaction," Deepak Ajmani, Wendy’s U.S. chief operations officer, said in an announcement. "Pipedream's Instant Pickup system has the potential to unlock greater mobile order speed of service and accuracy, enabling us to consistently deliver hot and fresh Wendy's products to our fans."
News of the test comes a week after Wendy’s (Nasdaq: WEN) announced plans to pilot a chat artificial intelligence program at one of its Central Ohio drive-thrus.
In both cases the company said the goal is to improve the customer experience with greater speed and accuracy while also freeing up its human employees to focus more on making food and providing customer service.
Wendy’s said that mobile ordering continues to grow. Digital sales through the app and third-party delivery companies accounted for 11% of total U.S. sales in the most recent quarter.
