DoorDash on Tuesday unveiled Dot, a small autonomous delivery robot it developed in-house, capable of traveling on roads, bike lanes and sidewalks at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. The company is testing the vehicle in the Phoenix metropolitan area and aims to roll it out to 1.6 million residents there by the end of 2025.
Dot, painted bright red with LED “eyes” and a mouth-like cargo door, can carry up to 30 pounds of food — enough for six pizza boxes — and is equipped with customizable inserts such as cupholders and coolers. Standing under five feet tall and weighing 350 pounds, it uses a mix of cameras, radar and lidar sensors to navigate, powered by an interchangeable battery pack.
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“You don’t always need a full-sized car to deliver a tube of toothpaste or pack of diapers,” said Stanley Tang, DoorDash’s co-founder, at a company event. “Dot is purpose-built for the millions of deliveries we facilitate every day. It is small enough to navigate doorways and driveways, fast enough to maintain food quality, and smart enough to optimize the best routes for delivery.”
Ashu Rege, DoorDash’s head of autonomy and a former Zoox executive, said conversations with lawmakers have been “positive,” with officials viewing small delivery vehicles as a way to reduce congestion. “Dot is trained to be deferential to bicyclists and pedestrians, while being large enough to be visible to drivers,” he told TechCrunch.
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DoorDash said human couriers will continue to handle most deliveries, while automation could shift focus toward “high-value orders that require human judgment and care.” The company has built supporting infrastructure in Phoenix including warehouses, charging stations and field operators, though it declined to disclose costs or staffing numbers.
The company has worked toward Dot for years, acquiring AV startup Scotty Labs in 2019 and bringing in mapping talent from Lvl 5 before hiring Rege in 2021. While DoorDash hopes to gain an edge over rivals Uber and Instacart, Dot also faces challenges ranging from vandalism to safety concerns, in a sector where many autonomous vehicle startups have already stumbled.
