Wendy’s fast-food customers may soon get their food delivered by underground robots, to help speed up the handoff from the restaurant to those who order from their phones.
The fast-food chain announced a new partnership with Pipedream, a company that developed an underground autonomous robot system that can be used to deliver digital food orders from the kitchen to parking spaces within seconds.
The goal, Wendy’s said in a press release, is to provide faster and more convenient pick-up experiences.
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“We know that serving orders quickly and accurate leads to increased customer satisfaction,” Wendy’s Company U.S. Chief Operations Officer Deepak Ajmani said. “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.”
Wendy’s will be the first quick-service restaurant to pilot Pipedream’s technology, which the tech company says is designed to make digital order pick-up fast, dependable and invisible.
Once installed, the kitchen at your local Wendy’s will be directly connected to a portal outside the restaurant.
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After placing a mobile order, the customer will then pull up to a portal and have the food delivered by what Pipedream calls “autonomous robots” that carry the food underground and to the portal.
Customers will not have to leave their vehicles to receive their order.
Wendy’s also says the technology will allow the restaurants to increase efficiencies with crew members by streamlining digital orders.
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“We’re proud to partner with an iconic, innovative brand like Wendy’s to bring the future of mobile order pick-up to the quick service industry,” Garrett McCurrach, CEO of Pipedream, said. “By solving order handoff, the final leg of the digital experience, our Instant Pickup technology allows Wendy’s restaurant team members to focus on what matters: serving delicious, high-quality food and connecting with customers in this digital-first world.”
Wendy’s said it plans to integrate the underground delivery system into an existing restaurant later this year.
Pipedream was created in 2021 and is based in Austin, Texas.
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The company said its fully electric underground system can be used to move food, packages, groceries and more in seconds.
It is designed to help cities, developers, merchants and more get ready for increasing delivery needs while removing emissions and congestion.