Ford’s self-driven cars to deliver Domino’s

Ann Arbor (Michigan): Ford Motor Co and Domino’s Pizza Inc in September will begin testing Michigan consumers’ reactions to having their pies delivered by self-driving vehicles, the companies said on Tuesday.

It will not be the first experiment with advanced pizza delivery technology. Australiabased Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, the Ann Arbor-based company’s largest independent franchisee, has tested delivery to customers in New Zealand via drone and self-driving robot.

In a blog post last week, Sherif Marakby, head of Ford’s autonomous and electric vehicles, signalled the automaker’s broader ambitions, saying Ford planned to cooperate ‘with multiple partners’ in deploying selfdriving vehicles ‘designed to improve the movement of people and goods.’

Previously, Ford executives had said the company expected to launch a self-driving shuttle for commercial ride-sharing fleets in 2021. Domino’s and Ford will deliver pizzas to randomly selected customers in the Ann Arbor area in a Ford Fusion Hybrid equipped with self-driving technology.

The delivery vehicles initially will be piloted by human drivers.

Customers will be able to track the delivery process via GPS and will receive text messages on how to retrieve their pizzas once the delivery vehicle has arrived.