Japan's biggest convenience store chain wants to make the shopping experience even more convenient. Seven-Eleven Japan is testing out a robot delivery service that it plans to introduce in offices and hospitals.
The operator is trialing the system at one of its outlets in an office building in Tokyo.
Staff load goods into the robot and enter the destination.
The robot does the rest. It navigates its way through the building, around obstacle, and even into an elevator.
People access the products by entering a passcode sent to their smartphones.
Seven-Eleven plans to launch the service by fiscal 2024.
It says customers will be able to use their smartphones to make orders and can expect to get their deliveries in 30 minutes or more.
Rival chain Lawson has been rolling out an online delivery service through a partnership with a company that provides food delivery and shopping services.