Domino’s to start robo-deliveries in Germany
Automation appears to be the way of the future, and now even the humble pizza delivery driver is under threat
Key takeaways
- The technology is improving, people seem to be more receptive to the concept than they have ever been before, and increasingly the regulators are becoming the industry’s new cheerleaders.
- Capable of carrying a whopping 40lbs of pizza – seriously, who eats that much pizza, don’t answer – the robots will deliver pizzas within a one-mile radius.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Domino’s to start robo-deliveries in Germany', 311 Institute, 30 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/dominos-to-start-robo-deliveries-in-germany/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
The food delivery robots, and drones, are coming. The technology is improving, people seem to be more receptive to the concept than they have ever been before, and increasingly the regulators are becoming the industry’s new cheerleaders.
Now Domino’s want in on the action, and unlike Amazon and 7-Eleven who are rolling out autonomous drone delivery systems Domino’s thinks their future is six wheeled and travels at 4 miles per hour - which means that even local deliveries could take at least fifteen minutes - and they’ve partnered with Starship Technologies, who’ve also inked deals with DoorDash and Postmates to make it happen.
In 2015 the tech loving pizza company joked about driverless delivery robots, and do you remember their “Domi-No-Driver” campaign? No, me neither, but now they’re serious and they’re going to begin using their new six wheeled robot friends to deliver pizzas in Hamburg, Germany in the next couple of months.
Capable of carrying a whopping 40lbs of pizza – seriously, who eats that much pizza, don’t answer – the robots will deliver pizzas within a one-mile radius. And with forecasts suggesting that by 2019 logistics firms will be using over 175,000 robots, which kicks even UPS’s huge delivery network of 100,000 vans into the shade the future for robot companies looks rosy – even if the same can’t be said for the people they’ll one day replace.
However, and someone has to ask it – what happens when one of these things gets kicked over or turned upside down by a bunch of teenagers, or a mob of angry ex-pizza delivery drivers? Nothing that’s what – cold pizza and a robot that’s going to be spinning its wheels until its battery runs out. Ha ha, silly robot...
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Why does this matter?
Automation appears to be the way of the future, and now even the humble pizza delivery driver is under threat
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 30 March 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Domino’s to start robo-deliveries in Germany. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/dominos-to-start-robo-deliveries-in-germany/
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