In June 2025, Real Life Robotics, a start-up from the University of Waterloo’s Velocity incubator, initiated a three-month pilot project in Markham, Ontario. This collaboration with Skip, a Canadian online food delivery service, aims to test the feasibility of robotic food delivery in urban settings.
The pilot involves four autonomous delivery robots equipped with advanced sensors, including LIDAR for obstacle detection. While the robots navigate sidewalks and cross streets autonomously, a human operator is on standby to intervene in complex situations, ensuring safety for both pedestrians and the robots.
Customers can opt for “Robotic Delivery” through the Skip app. Once the robot arrives, users unlock their orders via a QR code. The design emphasizes human-centric features, including friendly and emotive robot faces, to foster positive interactions. If successful, Real Life Robotics plans to expand the fleet to 500 robots across Canada within three years.
This initiative marks a significant step towards integrating non-human workers into the food delivery industry, showcasing the potential of AI employees and voice AI agents in enhancing service efficiency and customer experience. The outcomes of this pilot could influence the future of urban logistics and the role of robotics in everyday life.
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