KFC has begun rolling out self-driving food trucks in China and now I want some god damn wicked wings.
KFC Self-Driving Vehicles
This new initiative seems to be part of a push to further enhance contactless delivery options due to COVID-19. In this case, Yum Brands (which owns KFC) and Chinese company Neolix partnered up to bring fried chicken on wheels to life.
The self-driving vehicles allow customers to select their KFC item of choice and pay by scanning a QR code. Upon payment the door will open so the customer can take their food.
The trucks seem to have been first spotted on Twitter earlier this month. We can’t see exactly what’s in those bags but the menu does have what seems to be a Twister of some description. My head-canon wants to believe that some popcorn chicken is also thrown into the mix. And this is why I need to stop skipping breakfast.
思いがけず反応が多いので。場所は上海の市内の少し外れの地下鉄駅前の交差点。無人販売車は2台あって1台がKFC。たぶん朝〜昼の時間帯のみ(帰りには見かけない)。支払いはQRコード決済。決済完了したら扉が開く仕組み。 https://t.co/Wvwl2y4slP pic.twitter.com/8j14HTRF5j
— プーアル (@shanghaineko) November 18, 2020
Forbes also reported last month that Neolix was partnering with companies like KFC and Pizza Hut to bring a ‘restaurant on wheels’ service to the streets.
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Neolix autonomous vehicles
Neolix is an autonomous vehicle start-up that raised $US29 million in series A+ financing in February of 2020. At the time, the company said it would use the funds to help mass produce its self-driving shuttles.
Measuring 2.4 x 2.4 x 2.4-meters, they can travel up to 100km on a single charge and can fang it at up to 50km an hour. They also contain sensors and HD maps to detect and avoid obstacles. They also happen to be very cute.
You can see them in action here:
In addition to serving up food, the self-driving vehicles have also been used in China to disinfect the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic.