Aug 30, 2023

Every now and then, an interesting patent appears in patent searches that make you wonder exactly what someone’s up to. Now, don’t get me wrong. Patents are issued all the time, and most of the time, a real product or business isn’t created. But when it comes to someone like IdeaLab ‘s Bill Gross – an inventor known for creating dozens of products and companies – you have to wonder what he’s got up his sleeve. First, let’s look at the patent. Granted B1 status yesterday, the patent, US 11738466 B1, is titled “Robot For Preparing And Delivering Food Items” The patent description goes on to describe just that: The automated food preparation and delivery robot comprises a communications system configured to receive a food order and address from a customer, a navigation system configured to automatically drive the vehicle to the address, and an automated food preparation system configured to prepare food in accordance with the food order while en route to the customer address. The automated food preparation system is configured to determine a drive time to travel to the customer address, and determine a preparation time to prepare the food in accordance with the food order. If the drive time is greater than the preparation time, the robot waits and then begins preparing the food after a delay substantially equal to the drive time minus the preparation time. In this manner, preparation of the food coincides with arrival at the customer address. We’ve seen lots of crazy ideas that tie together mobility and cooking, but this is the first one that I’ve seen that is a fully autonomous robotic vehicle and food prep all in one: The invention in the preferred embodiment is an automated food preparation and delivery robot configured to prepare food orders while en route to a customer address, without the aid of a person on the vehicle. The automated food preparation and delivery robot comprises: a vehicle, a communications system configured to receive a food order and address from a customer, a navigation system configured to automatically drive the vehicle to the address; and an automated food preparation system configured to prepare the food in accordance with the food order while en route to the customer address and dispense the food upon arrival. Here’s a figure from the patent that outlines the sequence of processing a food order: On the other hand, this is Bill Gross, a well-known inventor and successful entrepreneur. And since Gross, who runs one of the longest-running Silicon Valley technology incubators around, is listed as the sole inventor on the patent, my guess is this is an idea he’s at least somewhat invested in. Still, it’s yet to be seen whether or not he’s planning on productizing the concept. Like I said, most patented remain just that, ideas. But given Gross’s history of both founding successful companies and a deep interest in robotics – he was a co-founder of Evolution Robotics, a maker of cleaning robots acquired in 2012 by iRobot – it’s worth keeping an eye on. I’ve reached out to Gross for comment, and I’ll let you know what I hear. Get The Spoon in Your Inbox Leave this field empty if you're human: Related