Overview

• Dot is designed to travel on roads, bike lanes and sidewalks at up to 20 mph, carrying about 30 pounds or six pizza boxes with a swappable battery and a sensor suite of cameras, radar and lidar.
• Early access deployments are underway in Tempe and Mesa, where DoorDash says it has already completed hundreds of test deliveries, with plans to expand to additional markets.
• Dot operates within DoorDash’s new Autonomous Delivery Platform, which assigns each order to the most suitable mode of delivery, and the company is also introducing a Going Out reservations feature to broaden merchant services.
• DoorDash says human Dashers will continue to handle the vast majority of orders, positioning Dot for short, local runs and noting the robot does not use human teleoperation, with field teams available to assist when needed.
• Experts and reporters highlight real-world obstacles for delivery robots, including navigation, accessibility and tampering risks, underscoring the challenges of scaling beyond limited pilots.