Consumers will be able to use their mobile device to order a takeout pizza that is both made and delivered to their door entirely by robots using a fully automated, contactless system being developed in California.

US start-up Piestro unveiled its automated pizzeria as a standalone kiosk when it launched a crowdfunding investment campaign in July. It has now joined with robotics provider Kiwibot to integrate its delivery robots with the Piestro system.

“Through an in-app order and purchase, customers can select their preferred pizza design,” Piestro says.

“The order is registered with Kiwibot and a bot is deployed to a Piestro location, where the pizza has been made through automation and timed to dispense upon arrival for maximum freshness and quality.

“Kiwibot picks up the pizza and delivers directly to the consumer, creating a fully contactless experience from the time your pizza is made, to the moment in hand.”

The automated pizza-vending kiosk can prepare, cook and deliver a pizza personalised according to the customer’s choice of toppings within three minutes, Piestro claims.

Kiwibot launched its prototype food delivery robot on the University of California’s Berkeley campus in 2017 and has now rolled out some 200 robots that have made a total of more than 100,000 deliveries.

“Integrating Kiwibot into our system and making fresh, deliciously crafted pizzas accessible in an easy, fast and contactless format positions us to bring our Piestro automated pizzeria to market stronger than ever,” Piestro’s CEO Massimo De Marco says.

The company has now launched a second crowdfunding investment campaign to further develop the robot-delivery integration.

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