Pizza Hut's New Robot Pickup Truck Cooks Hot Pies On the Go
Say hello to the chef of the future.
Image: Pizza Hut
If you love pizza and just happen to be in the market for a sweet new ride, this one might set your imagination on fire.
On Tuesday, Pizza Hut revealed a new “concept car,” made by Toyota and outfitted with a fully automated robot pizza oven. The custom Toyota Tundra—named the “Tundra Pie Pro”—was unveiled at the auto maker’s 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show Presentation.
The Tundra Pie Pro was created by stripping down the Toyota pickup truck to its bare bones, then first by replacing its gasoline-powered drivetrain with a hydrogen fuel-powered electric engine.
The bed of the pickup was then replaced with “a virtual pizza factory on wheels.” Two robot arms were installed to handle the pizza-making process, including removing the selected pizza from a built-in refrigerator, then placing it on a self-contained conveyor belt oven.
Once the pizza is done being cooked, it is picked up by one of the robo-arms, placed in a box, then sliced into six “identical” slices. The whole process takes about six or seven minutes.
Pizza Hut hopes that the idea for a mobile pizza kitchen will help to expand its delivery radius.
"Nothing tastes better than a fresh Pizza Hut pizza straight out of the oven," said Pizza Hut’s chief brand officer, Marianne Radley, in a statement. "The Tundra Pie Pro brings to life our passion for innovation not just on our menu, but in digital and delivery in order to provide the best possible customer experience."
This is the second automotive collaboration between Pizza Hut and Toyota; the duo revealed concept designs for an autonomous self-driving pizza delivery car in January.
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