Mueller residents can now have H-E-B groceries delivered by robot

HEB delivers groceries by robot

H-E-B launched its pilot program in May for autonomous vehicle delivery at its Mueller location.

AUSTIN, Texas - H-E-B is now using robots to deliver groceries to shoppers. 

H-E-B launched its pilot program in May for autonomous vehicle delivery at its Mueller location.

Robots delivering H-E-B groceries

The backstory:

The developer behind the project, Avride, says its autonomous robots started making food deliveries in the Mueller neighborhood back in 2023, but this is the first of its kind at a grocery store in Austin.

"Robots are developed for so-called hyperlocal delivery. So, every time I need to deliver something within a radius of one to two miles, robots can work perfectly for that," said Yulia Shveyko, Avride’s Head of Communications.

Avride says it’s a way to make cost-effective deliveries. The sign at the Mueller H-E-B even notes that no tips are necessary.

"These robots are equipped with an array of sensors, which provide the robot with information about its surroundings. We're using different types of sensors like the lidar, which gives the robot the geometry of the surroundings. So, a series of people around, the distance to them, a sequence of cars, obstacles, everything," said Shveyko.

Avride says the ordering is done through the Favor app. An H-E-B employee packs the robot with the items, the order gets dispatched to the location and the customer is notified of its arrival.

H-E-B says the pilot allows the delivery of 10 small items from the bots daily to customers within a one-mile radius of the store.

The vehicles have insulated compartments that can be divided to separate hot and fresh or cold/frozen items. The robots can hold up to six pizzas and five large bottles of soda. It can even operate in any weather conditions.

"Our goal as a company is to provide one more option for customers to get their foods delivered. So, if they want to have it delivered by robots, they now can do that," said Shveyko.

What's next:

H-E-B says it doesn’t currently have any expansion plans with the pilot.

More info on Avride can be found here.

Austinites react

Local perspective:

Some residents seem curious.

"Just for the ease of not having to go somewhere to pick something up, and then it also seems a little bit more convenient than having to wait for somebody to go pick food up three breeds or something like that," said Andrew Savitt, Mueller resident.

"Sounds good, sounds a lot more convenient than having to drive out there. I mean, I live two minutes away, but I still drive all the time. So that sounds a little more convenient," said Mueller resident, Peter Le.

"They look like one of those I-robots that just ride around like a little car. It's like white and big eyes. It's hard to explain what it looks like. It looks like a toy," Lee added.