Written by Sameer Mittal, PHOTO: CHARLES JAVELONA, GELLÉRT MÁTTYUS and GEOFFREY.
Named after the “godfather of machine learning” Geoffrey Hinton, this pink delivery robot by Tinymile weighs 10 pounds i.e., roughly the weight of a newborn baby. Geoffrey can carry an equivalent of an $80 takeout order (or an estimated weight of six pounds) at a maximum speed of 6 km/hour. This adorable robot addresses the need of the hour for being able to do non-contact deliveries. Being a good robot that Geoffrey is, the robot keeps your content safely locked in its trunk till it reaches you. Currently, you can find Geoffrey taking strolls in Toronto, north of Yonge and Dundas square and if you’re lucky, you’ll sometimes spot him on the roads of Spadina.
Geoffrey was invented to significantly reduce the cost of delivery for customers and restaurants in an eco-conscious and sustainable manner while giving a safe tool and environment for couriers to do their job remotely. Couriers are able to drive robots remotely from the comforts of their homes.
Confused and in awe
As Geoffrey rolls by, bystanders are often left confused by the tiny, pink carriage and are unable to guess the purpose it solves – it is either an electrical carriage or a baby pram or a pram carrying an animal. They see Geoffrey all by himself on the streets of Toronto, anticipating a companion with it and are left with their jaws wide open when Geoffrey disappears around the corner, like a solo ranger on his mission. Customers who have received their food orders through Geoffrey are left in awe, usually because of the novelty of the delivery process. The local restaurant partners are absolute fans of Geoffrey and find him cute and endearing.
Tinymile – The game-changer of non-contact and ecological deliveries
Ignacio Tartavull tired of waiting for the robots that should have come in 2020, started making prototypes in his condo. That’s where Tinymile took its first breath – Canada’s future of no-contact, sustainable, artificially intelligent, on-demand delivery. Soon after, revolutionary brains from four different backgrounds came together to form the core team:
Ignacio Tartavull, the Founder, ex Uber autonomous group (ATG)
Gellért Máttyus, the CTO, ex Uber ATG
Charles Javelona, COO, ex founder of a recruiting company that served fortune 500 companies
Patrick Martinson, Head of Hardware and former Co-founder of Clearpath Robotics
What does the future hold in store for robot delivery?
Tinymile, currently based in Toronto, is gradually increasing the number of restaurants that it can serve to reduce delivery fees while maintaining non-contact deliveries. The team plans to expand across Canada with more versions of Geoffrey in action. Additionally, Tinymile plans on hiring and training candidates with disabilities to control and drive the robots remotely.
Tinymile is now looking for more restaurants to partner up. For any inquiries regarding partnerships, please email charles@tinymile.ai. To chat with Geoffrey and to get more information, visit tinymile.ai
