Foodpanda to use robots to deliver food in NUS, NTU and Punggol

SINGAPORE  — Food delivery firm Foodpanda is conducting a pilot of autonomous food delivery services at two university campuses and within the Punggol neighbourhood over the next few months. 

The firm said that it has plans to expand the service islandwide once the trials are completed in November this year.

When asked by TODAY which neighbourhoods they would likely offer the service, it said that the locations have not been confirmed because it would be dependent on approvals by the authorities. 

In a press release on Thursday (June 10), Foodpanda said that the food delivery robots would help meet the demand for safer delivery options during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It would also be helpful in reaching inaccessible locations and reduce the burden on riders during peak periods and wet weather. 

The pilot at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) started recently and is a tie-up with student start-up Whizz Mobility. The start-up first launched its FoodBot service in June last year to deliver food across the NTU campus.

Students across NTU’s 200-hectare campus in Nanyang Avenue now receive all their Foodpanda deliveries from any of the four bright pink FoodBots. The trial will continue till November.  

From next month, students at University Town in the National University of Singapore (NUS) will similarly receive their Foodpanda orders from autonomous vehicles. 

These vehicles from Chinese start-up Neolix, which are white and can hold up to 100 bento boxes, will also serve as mobile convenience stores during off-peak hours. The trial at NUS will run until October.

Foodpanda said that it has plans to extend this service to other parts of the NUS campus after the trial is completed.  

In its press release, it said that it was also tapping existing autonomous delivery robots designed by technology provider Otsaw. These robots are already being used to serve Punggol residents.

The two robots named Camello are part of a year-long trial by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. 

Residents of seven Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks in Punggol’s Waterway Woodcress estate have been receiving groceries and parcels from the robots since March.  

From August to October, the two Camellos will be recruited by Foodpanda to deliver food and groceries from Oasis Terraces mall in Punggol to residents in the seven blocks and residents living in three other blocks nearby.