Uber Eats Uses Waymo Self-Driving Cars for First Time
- Written by Deep Shikha Content Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Last week, Uber and Waymo announced that Uber Eats users can now be paired with Waymo’s self-driving car for their food delivery as part of their ongoing partnership. This service will operate within Waymo’s extensive 225+ square mile service area in Phoenix.
While it’s the first time Uber Eats has used autonomous vehicles for food deliveries, it’s not the first time it’s used robots. There are smaller delivery robots that Uber has previously employed, like those from Serve Robotics . But they can only travel short distances on sidewalks at walking pace.
Uber also partnered with Nuro’s R3 , which is designed for food deliveries, and equipped with temperature-controlled compartments for food.
The Waymo service will start with a few chosen restaurants in Chandler, Tempe, and Mesa, including popular local eateries like Princess Pita, Filiberto’s, and Bosa Donuts.
Before deliveries, the Uber Eats app displays a notification stating, “Autonomous vehicles may deliver your order.” The option to opt out is available at checkout, which will default to a human courier delivery if selected.
Upon the arrival of the autonomous vehicle, an in-app notification is sent out, instructing the user to unlock the car with the help of the phone used to make the order and collect the items.
The obvious downside with robot deliveries is that customers have to go outside to get their food from the Waymo car instead of having it brought to their door. From the delivery side of things, this does mean that real human delivery people may see a drop in available work on Uber Eats. You don’t have to tip a Waymo car (you’ll be refunded if you try to), so saving a few bucks could give robots an advantage.
As Ars Technica pointed out , using large, electric Jaguar i-Pace cars for small food deliveries doesn’t seem very efficient or economical, either. Especially when these cars can carry 5 people and do much more (and there are smaller, more suitable food delivery bots Uber Eats has already used). But at least Waymo vehicles are electric and align with both companies’ missions of making trips emission-free.
Blizzard, NetEase Collaboration Relaunches World of Warcraft in China
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
US-based Blizzard Entertainment is set to return to China this summer, after entering into a new licensing agreement with its former partner NetEase.
The new deal will give Chinese gamers access to all the previous games available under the old licensing agreement, including World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and others.
In January 2023, Blizzard Games exited the Chinese gaming market after failing to renew its licensing agreement with China’s NetEase. The exit saw an end to an almost 15-year-long partnership and saw outcry by millions of Chinese netizens over losing access to their favorite games.
However, after Activision Blizzard’s 2023 acquisition by Microsoft and the latter’s friendly stance towards China, there were Chinese media reports about the company trying to re-enter the domestic gaming market.
Additionally, it seems Microsoft also wanted to establish its foothold in the growing Chinese gaming market. The country is the world’s leading gaming market and is expected to reach US$95.51 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.63%, reports China Briefing .
Moreover, with the recent issuance of new gaming licenses, a trajectory shift in the government’s stance towards the gaming sector can be seen. Albeit the past two years’ restrictions on playtime for minors and in-game spending and rewards continue to persist.
“We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years,” Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment, said in a statement on April 10 .
“We are focused on bringing our universes back to players with excellence and dedication,” Faries continued.
Under the new agreement, both companies have also agreed to explore ways to bring new NetEase games to Xbox consoles and other Microsoft platforms.
“Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming .
