SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City will be the testing ground for a new DoorDash program in hopes that the company's robotic delivery system takes a cue from the USPS creed.
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is the postal worker motto well known across the country, and it may soon carry over to Dot.
Dot is the DoorDash autonomous robot that already delivers food to homes, but it currently does so in perfect weather conditions. During the Salt Lake City pilot program, the company aims to teach Dot how to deliver in harsher weather conditions.
“By piloting Dot in rain and snow in Salt Lake City, we're building the safety case and operational knowledge needed to expand this technology responsibly — not just to more cities, but to more days of the year when people need it most," said DoorDash VP of Autonomy Ashu Rege.
Much like self-driving vehicles and other robotic delivery systems, Dot uses radars, cameras and other sensors, allowing it to respond safely on city and suburban walkways. The robot can operate for 6 hours and produces zero emissions.
A start date for the Salt Lake City pilot program was not released.