Domino’s is testing Nuro’s R2, an autonomous delivery vehicle, in Houston.

The Nuro R2 is a fully autonomous, on-road delivery vehicle that has regulatory approval by the US Department of Transportation. Domino’s will use R2 in a pilot program in Houston.

Customers who place an online prepaid order from the Woodland Heights location may have their pizza delivered by R2. If so, the customer will receive a text message containing a PIN number and will be able to track R2’s progress via GPS. Once the robot rolls up, the customer will input the PIN and R2 will open its door to allow access to the pizza.

“We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer. “There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations. The growing demand for great-tasting pizza creates the need for more deliveries, and we look forward to seeing how autonomous delivery can work along with Domino’s existing delivery experts to better support the customers’ needs.”

“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”

Autonomous delivery vehicles are an important step in the transformation of the restaurant industry, and could provide a safe way for restaurants to adapt and expand their operations in the midst of the pandemic.