First commercial food delivery robots launched in Saudi Arabia
A partnership between housing developer ROSHN Group and delivery app Jahez, the service aims to reduce delivery times in addition to cutting carbon emissions, and is licensed by the Kingdom's Transport General Authority.
Jayesh Maganlal, ROSHN Group's chief information and digital officer, told Arab News that the launch aligned with the company's strategy of 'expansion, innovation and sustainability.'
Mohammed Al-Barrak, the chief technology officer at Jahez, said: 'We're happy that we officially launched autonomous delivery with ROSHN, as (we were) the first company to get the license from the sandbox (regulatory sandbox program) from the Transport General Authority.'
The initial stage of the launch will see five autonomous robots operating within ROSHN Front's Business Area during working hours, as part of a wider initiative to test autonomous deliveries.
Maganlal said: 'As of now, it is operating within our ROSHN business front. The next expansion will be within the ROSHN Front shopping mall areas. And then we will roll it out within our communities, across the ROSHN Group.'
The five autonomous robots begin operating this week and will deliver food orders from nearby restaurants between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Each robot is equipped with more than 20 sensors and six cameras to ensure safe and precise navigation. They operate via GPS with additional cooling systems tailored for the Kingdom's climate.
Al-Barrak said the robots can handle most tasks without human intervention.
When asked how they can navigate walking paths that may have a lot of foot traffic, the engineers at Jahez said that the machines can communicate with pedestrians by displaying messages such as 'I need help' and 'Hello.'
The robots are also equipped with suspension that can help them navigate bumpy roads.
Maganlal highlighted expansion plans, and added: 'We will also want to bring this closer to our customers and people who live in our communities, to help them get the same experience.'
This is not the first news of Jahez working with autonomous deliveries. On the sidelines of the LEAP 2024 Exhibition, Jahez announced that 10 self-driving vehicles would deliver orders.
Al-Barrak told Arab News: 'Part of our strategy is to always optimize on automation, and this is part of the automation. To be innovative we chose to optimize in our key pillar, which is (logistics).
'So we decided to go with the autonomous delivery. And this is part of many upcoming technologies that will help with the automation of delivery, like within gated communities.'
ROSHN Group said the robots would operate within a green mobility framework, contributing to lower carbon emissions, reducing reliance on traditional vehicles, easing traffic congestion, and improving air quality within urban environments.
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