System aims to speed up high-rise deliveries by handling building entry and elevator wait times.
Talabat has teamed up with Singapore-based robotics firm QuikBot to trial autonomous delivery robots in high-rise buildings across Dubai.
The pilot is being conducted at the A6 commercial building in Dubai Digital Park, located in Dubai Silicon Oasis. As part of the trial, delivery riders leave customer orders with a QuikBot robot at a designated location inside the building. The robot then independently uses the elevator and completes the final stage of the delivery by taking the order directly to the customer’s door.
Customers can securely retrieve their orders from the delivery robot by entering a one-time password (OTP).
The system is intended to manage some of the more time-consuming stages of deliveries in high-rise buildings, such as gaining access to the property, waiting for elevators and travelling between different floors.
Talabat said the pilot will measure the amount of time the technology could save delivery riders while also evaluating how effectively the two companies’ systems integrate and operate under real-world delivery conditions.
Simonida Subotic, Vice-President and Managing Director of Talabat UAE, said the pilot will allow the company to evaluate how autonomous robots can navigate building access points and elevators as part of the delivery process.
QuikBot’s technology is powered by its QuikSync platform, which assigns robots a digital identity and enables them to interact with buildings and people. The company’s autonomous delivery technology is already being used in operations in Singapore and the UAE.
QuikBot founder and CEO Alan Ng said building infrastructure plays a significant role in autonomous delivery, particularly when robots need to independently navigate areas such as lobbies and elevators.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on September 7, with the Dubai trial being used to evaluate the technology’s performance and its potential for broader deployment across Talabat’s delivery network.
Under the model, robots take responsibility for the final stages of delivery inside high-rise buildings. This allows riders to remain available for other orders while the robot navigates the building and completes the delivery to the customer.
