Too tired to step out to the neighbourhood grocery for the leek in the soup or the cherry tomatoes in the salad? You may soon be able to order online, thanks to Robomart - a Silicon Valley startup founded only last year by an Armenian autonomous vehicle expert and two former Dubai residents turned serial entrepreneurs.
Robomart is a driverless grocery delivering all the veggies and fruits you may need, right at your doorstep. Currently being tested for commercial runs in the US, Robomart is the world's first driverless grocery claim its founders and it could well be a reality in Dubai in the near future they say.
"We are speaking with a number of retailers and partners about potentially deploying pilots in Dubai. Our first pilots are in the US but we may decide to pilot robomart in Dubai soon after, subject to regulatory approvals," Robomart co-founder Ali Ahmed told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of GITEX Tech Week 2018 where the technology is currently on display at the futuristic-looking Etisalat stand with celebrity social humanoid robots Sophia, her brother Han and Melvin as neighbours.
"Etisalat partnered with us to showcase Robomart at GITEX. As we consider and look to deploy pilots later in Dubai, Etisalat will be a key partner for us, especially for our teleoperations, as we can leverage 5G as it starts to rollout," added the 35-year old whose Alameda-based firm in California not only manufactures the robomarts but also licenses them to retailers on a monthly basis, while handling operations and maintenance. "All they have to do is to manage replenishment of goods," he explained.
But how long before Dubai residents can practically start using driverless grocery here? "Expo 2020 may be an opportune time for us to pilot in Dubai, or if we have significant interest from retailers to deploy sooner we may do so," he said.
"If and when that happens, Dubai may well be Robomart's first international stop as we are currently focused on getting our technology on the roads of the USA right now," added Emad Rahim, 37, who like Ali spent five years in the UAE before moving on to other places in the GCC and eventually to the US to realise their tech dreams.
One such dream of the company, they say, is what's currently driving them forward and it is to build - what they are calling - the world's most accessible grocery store that simply needs a user to open the app, order the closest robomart, and shop checkout-free when it arrives.
"Only a tiny fraction of the $1 trillion grocery market does business online and that's because on-demand delivery is still an expensive proposition for retailers while it remains extremely crucial for consumers to choose their own food items. We are only trying to leverage driverless technology to scale up the decades' old tradition of vendors selling door to door," explained Rahim, who like Ali is of Pakistani origin while Tigran Shahverdyan, 32, Robomart's third co-founder is originally from Armenia.
Know the tech
Robomarts are engineered with cutting-edge technology, including driverless tech for autonomy and teleoperations, an RFID and computer vision based checkout-free system, and purpose-built refrigeration and temperature control.
How does it work?
Consumers simply tap a button to request the closest Robomart. Once it arrives, they head outside, unlock the doors, and pick the products they want. When they are done, they just close the doors and send it on its way. Robomart tracks what customers have taken using patent pending "grab and go" checkout-free technology and will charge them and send a receipt accordingly.
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