A pitch deck for the first project of Udacity's Product Manager Nanodegree. This is my approach to autonomous robot deliveries for DoorDash.

1. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
DAAVE
Distributed Assistance for Autonomous
Vehicle Emergencies
Product Owner: Jonathan Spitz

2. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
The Terminator is still under development
Rise of the machines
• Use of delivery robots is rising 47% YoY[1]
• Delivery robots still run into trouble
stuck robot = expensive box
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[1] Google Trends for “Delivery robot” 2015-2020

3. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Business Case

4. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Keep up with the demand and competition
Autonomous delivery robots
• Food delivery market expected
to grow to $170 Bln by 2025[2]
• Dashers don’t want to complete
low paying deliveries
• Average cost of
autonomous delivery: $1
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[2] Statista - Online food delivery (Worldwide)

5. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Autonomous robots still get stuck and need help
Opportunity
• DoorDash’s Annualized GMV 2019[3]
: $7.5B
• With just 0.1% of deliveries done by robots and 4% getting stuck:
20k yearly “calls for help”
($7.5B / $15 * 0.001 * 0.04)
• Average cost of delivery issues: ~$25
$500k yearly loss
(20,000 * $25)
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[3] DoorDash Medium: Fueling the last mile

6. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
• Requests are sent to idle Dashers
through the app
• Three emergency levels:
1. Pick 1 of 4 auto-generated
resolution paths
2. Draw a path for me
3. Come rescue me
Distributed Assistance for Autonomous Vehicle Emergencies
DAAVE
• Automated request for
assistance when the AI
encounters high uncertainty
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7. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Prevent food waste and improve autonomy
Return On Investment
• The suggested system can prevent most delivery losses
• User provided solutions used to further improve the AI
ROI: 150% Payback period: 4 months
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Development
cost
Average reward
for assistance
Total cost of
assistance
Cost savings*
$60k App
$20k API
$1 $20k $250 k
* At least 50% of stuck deliveries are recovered = 10k/20k deliveries

8. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Selected KPIs after app launch/integration
Measurement
• Number of complaints from autonomous deliveries (-50%)
• Average emergency duration (-20%)
• Dashers ratings of app UI
• Customer reviews after autonomous deliveries
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9. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Competitors

10. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Phantom Auto
Teleoperation Services
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• Proprietary protocol for high bandwidth teleoperation
• Operates service centers on-demand
• Partnered with Postmates (Serve robot)
https://serve.postmates.com/ https://phantom.auto/

11. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Designated driver and Ottopia
Teleoperation Services
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• Teleoperation as a service
• Provide teleoperation hardware
– In-vehicle
– Driver station
https://designateddriver.ai/ https://ottopia.tech/

12. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
The field is getting crowded
Autonomous delivery robots
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• New robots pop-up
each year
– Starship
– Kiwibot
– Serve
– YAPE
– Rev-1
• Regulations in some states require each
robot to have a backup driver
https://www.yapemobility.it/ https://www.kiwibot.com/ https://www.starship.xyz/

13. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Reduce costs and give Dashers additional income
Why distributed?
• Reduced costs:
– No teleoperation hardware + office space
– No dedicated driver salaries
– No need for low-latency high-bandwidth network
• Benefits for Dashers:
– Conveniently provide help through the app
– Additional income
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14. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Roadmap and Vision

15. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Improving robot autonomy through inexpensive human interaction
Roadmap Pillars
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Assist UI Navigation API

16. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Integrated or companion app
Dasher Assist UI
• Ping idle/nearby
dashers
• Assistance options
– Choose a path
– Draw a path
– Assist in person
• Slow rollout to
selected dashers
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17. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Integration of calls for help and assistance input
Autonomous Navigation API
• Generation of path options
• Safe integration of user input
• Retraining of AI with new “expert examples”
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18. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Pushing the boundaries of autonomous navigation
The path to full autonomy
• Expanding market for last mile delivery
• Increased dependence on delivery robots
• Distributed assistance reduces costs
and provides expert training data at a fraction of the cost
Setting autonomous robots on the right path, together
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19. © 2020 Jonathan Spitz. Deck template by Udacity. DoorDash logo by DoorDash. All rights reserved.
Thanks