Make way for robots in NJ: Now delivering pizza and groceries in Jersey City

A 100-pound delivery robot named Coco is now bringing food to doorsteps in Jersey City’s Heights neighborhood.

The zero-emissions robot partners with local restaurants and delivers via Uber Eats at lower cost.

Officials say the pilot could reduce traffic, cut emissions, and expand across North and South Jersey.

JERSEY CITY — It weighs 100 pounds, has zero emissions, is better for the environment, is punctual, and travels about 5mph mostly on sidewalks to deliver food right to your front door.

Coco, the robot, has debuted in New Jersey, specifically in the Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, as part of a pilot program.

Robot food delivery launches in Jersey City Heights

Based out of California, Coco is an autonomous delivery vehicle designed to move groceries around a city, said Coco Robotics CEO and Founder Zach Rash.

Coco is much lighter than a car, and Jersey City is the perfect place to test the robot out in New Jersey because there are tons of deliveries happening across all the different local businesses.

“These deliveries are only going a few miles across the city, so it doesn’t make sense to be doing these with cars. We built a much better way to do it,” Rash said.

How Coco robots work: AI navigation and 5 mph sidewalk travel

The robot has scanners all over it to help it navigate through different types of environments.

It can detect people and pets, and when it’s on an empty sidewalk, it can travel up to 5mph. The artificial intelligence features on Coco can help it stay centered and avoid any objects in its path, Rash said.

Coco the robot started in Los Angeles. It expanded to Chicago, Miami, and even Helsinki, Finland. So, why Jersey City? Rash said his company generally looks for dense cities that do a lot of deliveries across small businesses.

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Zero-emissions delivery robot aims to cut traffic and costs

“We can be really helpful to the local businesses, reducing the cost of delivery, and especially in places that have the kind of density like Jersey City, we can help decongest the roads and move more deliveries to more sustainable and safer transport methods like the Coco robot,” Rash said.

Coco has zero emissions, which Rash said is so important in a place like Jersey City because it is heavily populated, has a lot of cars, and a lot of people using public transportation.

There are about 10 to 20 Coco robots that have teamed up with about 50 restaurants, grocery stores, and other local businesses in the Heights to deliver goods to customers.

Three favorite places, Rash said, people like to order from and have Coco deliver are Central Bistro, Angel Azul, and Dahlia’s Ice Cream.

How to order robot delivery in NJ using Uber Eats

The process is easy. If you order from a participating business through Uber Eats, you’ll have the option for a robot delivery. It’s more affordable than a human delivery, and it’s the safer, more environmentally-friendly option. Coco is not making any other stops along the way. The robot is coming right to you, Rash said. A human delivery is still an option if you choose.

Coco is big enough to carry four grocery bags of items or 10 extra-large pizza boxes.

“In fact, we deliberately designed it to be able to hold a very large number of New York pizzas, which are much bigger than pizzas in other parts of the world. We wanted to make sure it was as compact as possible while being able to fit all the kinds of things people want to get delivered on demand,” Rash said.

Thanks to AI and human operators, Coco uses real-time map intelligence to keep city maps updated with dynamic data like construction zones, blocked sidewalks, poor infrastructure and pedestrian traffic so the robot can be on the fastest, safest route to deliver the goods to the exact address someone requested, Rash said.

The feedback about Coco in Jersey City has been very positive. Rash said people love the novelty of having a robot deliver their food to them. The robot greets them, opens the lid, and goes on its merry way once they remove the bags.

He said kids get so excited, they’ve even hugged or petted Coco. So, Coco has definitely been an exciting part of the Jersey City community, he added.

One of the benefits of robots is that even in winter weather, when there’s snow everywhere, it can be really hard to get a delivery. Rash said sometimes there aren’t enough drivers, or they can’t reach their destination. Well, robots don’t mind, he said.
“Coco will show up every morning and make sure you get your goods,” Rash said.

While there are plans to expand Coco across other areas of Jersey City in the near future, Rash said he hopes to add more robots to the fleet in North Jersey and, hopefully, South Jersey, too.

“We’re always happy to learn from people how else this can be useful, so feel free to reach out and we’re excited for you to have your first robot experience,” Rash said.

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