** DoorDash said it plans to expand Dot alongside its strategic autonomous partnerships. | Source: DoorDash

In a world where food delivery has become something of a cultural phenomenon, and armies of couriers on bicycles and smartphones have flooded cities, a new, impassive and tipping-free participant in the race is entering the scene. The DoorDash delivery service has officially introduced Dot, its first commercial autonomous courier robot. And this is not just another experiment, but quite a commercial product, ready to plow the sidewalks in the fight for your hot lunch.

Dot, whose name wittily stands for "Delivery on Track," looks like a cute six-wheeled mobile thermos. But behind its friendly design, which should evoke a smile, not fear, there is a serious technological stuffing. This robot was created not to surprise at exhibitions, but to perform routine but vital work: to deliver orders from restaurants and shops right to the customer's doorstep.

"Dot is our first step towards building a scalable and efficient autonomous last—mile delivery system," says a DoorDash representative. The key word here is "last mile." It is this stage, when the order is almost at the customer, but it still needs to be carefully transported along the sidewalk, lifted by elevator or left at the door, that is the most expensive and difficult for logistics companies.

What can this "smart box" do?

See and hear: The Dot is equipped with a complex of cameras, lidars and sensors that allow it to build a three-dimensional map of the surrounding space in real time. He doesn't just drive along a preset route, but constantly analyzes the environment: he drives around obstacles that suddenly appear like children's toys, carefully follows pedestrians and stops before leaving the yards.

Be polite: The robot is programmed to follow the rules of "robo-etiquette". He will not brazenly honk at pedestrians, but will patiently wait until they give way to him. His movements are predictable and smooth, which should minimize the irritation of others.

Keep the temperature down: There is a thermally insulated compartment inside the case, which ensures that your pizza will be hot and your ice cream cold.

Teamwork: Interestingly, the Dot is not completely autonomous in the usual sense. Difficult situations, such as an unusual obstacle or the need to enter an elevator, can be handled by a remote operator. This is a hybrid model, where most of the journey is autonomous, and a person connects only at the most difficult points.

Not just a toy, but a business model.

Launching Dot is not a gesture of desperation or a PR move. This is a well-thought-out business strategy. Offline delivery solves several key problems:

Cost reduction: The robot does not need to pay salaries, sick days and vacation days. He works 24/7 without lunch breaks.

Scalability: During peak load periods (holidays, bad weather), you can simply deploy more robots on routes without urgently hiring dozens of temporary couriers.

Predictability: The robot does not get tired, is not late due to traffic jams (it drives on the sidewalk) and cannot "forget" an order.

Of course, this idyll has its pitfalls. How will pedestrians react to swarms of such devices on sidewalks? How will the robot deal with vandalism or banal ice? There are still more questions than answers.

But the fact that a major player like DoorDash is moving from experimentation to commercial implementation speaks volumes. This is a signal for the entire industry.: Autonomous delivery has ceased to be a futuristic fantasy and has become a technological reality. And behind this reality is a whole army of engineers, designers, operators, and analysts. Interestingly, as fleets of such robots grow, there will be a demand for specialists in their "employment" and maintenance — from logisticians planning their routes to technicians repairing them. And, who knows, maybe in the near future on the platform jobtorob.com There will be vacancies not only for robot creators, but also for their remote "mentors" and "shift teams."

In the meantime, Dot is modestly cruising along test routes, fulfilling its main mission — to prove that the future of delivery can be not only fast, but also charming in its own way, even if its face has become an emotionless thermos on wheels. The main thing is that he doesn't forget to ring the intercom.