Ford, Domino’s Test Autonomous Pizza Delivery

Ford Motor Co. and Domino's Pizza Inc. plan to begin testing customer reactions to pizza deliveries made with a self-driving car over the next two months in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Under the program, consumers can choose to receive their pizza in a specially designed Ford Fusion hybrid-electric sedan. The vehicle will be equipped with an array of sensors and software that will allow it to operate autonomously.

During the tests, however, a Ford safety engineer hidden behind tinted windows will drive the vehicle. Another engineer in the passenger seat will monitor inputs from the various in-vehicle systems.

People receiving deliveries from the test vehicles will not be told the engineers are riding inside. Customers will be able to track their orders via a smartphone GPS app, and will receive a text message when the vehicle arrives.

The text also will provide instructions on how to unlock and retrieve a pizza from a heated storage compartment accessed through the rear passenger-side window. Once the pizza has been removed, the window automatically rolls up, an automated “thank you” message is played and the car drives away.

Roush Enterprises Inc. helped outfit the Fusion with a custom Domino’s Heatwave Compartment, which is modeled after the oven used in Domino’s DXP delivery vehicle. That vehicle, a modified Chevrolet Spark, was introduced in 2015.

Domino’s will monitor customer satisfaction, including how far they are willing to come outside to get the pizza from the vehicle. Other interest points: the ease with which consumers can use the vehicle touchscreen to punch in the access code and remove the pizza from the vehicle.