Domino’s Pizza is taking food delivery to a whole new level of weird with its latest trial in the UK seaside town of Eastbourne. The fast-food chain has enlisted none other than Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot, transforming it into “Domidog,” a four-legged mechanical courier trained to tackle the sandy shores and defend hot pizzas from beachside bandits namely, seagulls.
Spot, Boston Dynamics’ now-famous quadrupedal robot, has already had a bizarrely versatile résumé. It has moonlighted as a police assistant, industrial inspector, dancer, cheerleader, and even an impersonator of stealth game icon Solid Snake. But in what might be its most whimsical role yet, Spot is being used to deliver pizzas to sunbathers while simultaneously playing guard dog against seagulls.
Domino’s adaptation of Spot dubbed Domidog comes with some key modifications to allow it to navigate the difficult terrain of sand, a challenge even for high-tech robots. Customers can use Domino’s Pinpoint Delivery system to select a precise location via GPS coordinates. A Domino’s employee loads the coordinates and a digital safety perimeter into Spot’s “Scout” mission tablet, straps a hot pizza into an insulated container mounted on its back, and sends the robot off to make its seaside journey.
Spot uses its array of cameras, sensors, and AI-assisted navigation to avoid beachgoers and reach the designated location. Since current UK regulations require line-of-sight supervision for robots operating in public, a human operator monitors Domidog from a shaded tent nearby, ready to intervene if needed.
When Domidog approaches the customer’s location, the Domino’s app sends out an alert. By pressing “Signal Driver,” the customer can activate a strobing color pattern on the robot, helping both the human supervisor and the customer to visually identify the delivery bot in the crowd.
But Domidog’s duties don’t stop at just delivering pizza. Once the handoff is complete, the robot remains on-site for a few minutes in “sentry mode”, a function designed specifically to deter seagulls, the notorious food thieves of British coastlines. Rather than harming the birds, Domidog uses its arm attachment to wave at approaching gulls, acting as a kind of robotic scarecrow. The hope is that this mechanical deterrent will buy customers enough time to enjoy their meal without losing a slice to a sudden aerial assault.
This quirky trial may sound like marketing theatre, but it’s built on serious tech. The Spot robot starts at around $75,000, but a fully outfitted version with the arm attachment and advanced sensor arrays can cost up to $150,000. In contrast, emerging competitors like Unitree’s humanoid R1 robot offer simpler if far less sophisticated robotics at a much lower price point, around $5,900.