These robots are now delivering food in N.J.

Residents in one Hudson County city can now have their late-night cravings and quick grocery orders delivered by a robot.

Uber Eats and Avride launched New Jersey’s first autonomous vehicle delivery program in Jersey City this week that allows customers to choose between having their orders delivered by robots or a human being.

The two companies announced a program to test the vehicles in various cities around the country last October, according to an Uber press release.

The Avride autonomous sidewalk vehicles first launched with Uber Eats in Austin, Texas last year before expanding to Dallas and Jersey City, according to the press release.

The Avride robots stand just under three feet tall by two feet wide and three feet long, according to the dimensions listed on Avride’s website.

The robots have a range of about 31 miles on a single charge with a maximum speed of 5 mph and are trained to navigate sidewalks, crosswalks and foot traffic, according to the company’s website.

Avride’s robots include a hatch that can carry about six 16.5-inch pizzas and five 1.5 liter bottles, according to the company. The hatch can be unlocked by customers once the order arrives, according to the company’s website.

Avride’s robots can navigate all weather conditions, even snow, and they are also polite, typically yielding the right of way to pedestrians and other motorized vehicles, according to the company’s website.

The company also says the robots do not collect private data and blurs faces and license plates captured by the robot’s sensors.

“We are excited to partner with Uber as we scale our operations and work together to further improve the delivery experience for both consumers and merchants,” Avride’s CEO Dimitry Polishchuck said in the press release announcing the launch. “We plan to expand the total fleet of Avride robots operating within Uber Eats to hundreds in 2025, followed by the launch of our robotaxi service.”

Besides the U.S., Avride’s autonomous vehicles are also making commercial deliveries in South Korea, the company said in the news release.

Jersey City mayor Steve Fulop voiced support for the autonomous delivery experiment in the city last August in a post on X.

“We are in the loop on this project and currently exploring how best to responsibly utilize them,” Fulop wrote on X.

“NYC has banned them but on the JC side we are not sure that banning is the best approach [plus] we are now exploring options on regulations/parameters. Our administration has always explored and embraced new technology and i think it is something we have done well as a team.

“These delivery robots will be partnering with food delivery services soon and are currently intended to be used for delivery of food and small batch groceries, etc. They are safe, secure and heavy but of course it is new technology so there will be issues that we are monitoring.”

Fulop said a press release announcing the launch that he believed the community would embrace technological innovation and provide enhanced business opportunities and convenience for residence.

Customers who chose autonomous vehicles for delivery will initially be able to order from a small collection of participating restaurants including Michelin rated Jiangnan, Rumi Turkish Grill, Downtown Yogurt Jersey City, Gulp, Amiya and Short Grain.

Additional restaurants will be added, according to the Uber spokesperson.

Customers can track their orders in real time using the Uber Eats app and can unlock the hatch through a notification when the order arrives, the spokesperson said.

The robot will wait for 10 minutes for customers to retrieve their orders, according to the company.

Service will initially be limited to the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. in downtown Jersey City from Hamilton Park to Historic Downtown to the Waterfront, according to an Uber spokesperson.

Uber Eats and Avride plan to expand the operational territory in the future, the spokesperson said.

Uber currently offers autonomous delivery programs in 11 cities with six partners.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow Matt on X.