Domino’s launch ‘Domidog’ - a robot K9 designed to deliver your pizza
Domino’s has created ‘Domidog’ - a robot K9 designed to safely deliver pizza to customers at the beach.
Although the pizza pup won’t replace traditional drivers, the prototype is being launched this summer to protect against swarms of seagulls who swoop on food at seaside hotspots.
The brand designed the fun robot pooch alongside research, which put seagulls in the top 10 things to bother Brits the most at the beach.
With limited toilets (40 per cent), big crowds (37 per cent), and unruly dogs not on leads (17 per cent) also making the list according to 1,500 polled who visit the seaside.
It emerged one in three admit they have fallen foul to the boisterous birds who circle the skies and swoop for food.
With 59 per cent wishing there was a way to easily protect their snacks from seagulls when at the seaside.
Izzy Gardener from Domino's said: “Seagulls have claimed too many seaside snacks, and it’s time we did something about it.
“We’re always exploring new and innovative ways to keep your pizza as hot and fresh as possible on its delivery journey.
“That’s why we’re trailing Domidog this summer: a tech-driven answer to an age-old beach problem.”
Before turning pizza pup, the Boston Dynamics robot has proven its capabilities: supporting search and rescue operations, assisting bomb squads and advancing robotics research in human-robot interaction.
Now, it’s putting those same advanced systems to work on a new mission - guarding your pizza from airborne snack thieves
Complete with a hi-tech spec, it can autonomously navigate its environment using onboard sensors, stereo cameras, and advanced localisation technology.
Other features like 360 degree perception also help it to effortlessly avoid obstacles while delivering.
From the research, when asked what grated their gears most about the greedy gulls, stealing food (61 per cent) naturally topped the list, followed by their aggressive behaviour (50 per cent).
With one in 10 going as far as to say the badly behaved birds have damaged their property, while 19 per cent claim they’d scared small children according to the OnePoll.com data.
Izzy Gardener from Domino's added: “Thanks to this prototype, seaside visitors will have a sure-fire way to keep slices safe and secure at the seaside – without them heading off into the sky.”
Top 10 things that bother people at the beach:
- Lack of toilets nearby
- Crowded beaches
- Litter
- Expensive/limited parking
- Seagulls
- Dogs off the lead
- Strong winds
- Getting sun burn
- Limited parking
- Sand in food