--- title: "Cyberpunk Overload! It’s the Summer of the Robot Vending Machine" description: "Robotic vending machines are making their way to malls, airports, and grocery stores across the US, the latest in last-mile problem-solving technologies." date: "2022-05-27" modified: "2022-05-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-vending-machine" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "remote control" - "the digest" --- # Cyberpunk Overload! It’s the Summer of the Robot Vending Machine ![Robotic vending machines are making their way to malls, airports, and grocery stores across the US, the latest in last-mile problem-solving technologies.]() *\Image: Tortoise\* ## Robotic Vending Machine The days of having to walk over to a vending machine to pick up a snack may be numbered. Now they're going to start coming to you. Robotic vending machines are making their way to malls, airports, and even grocery stores across the US, [*Axios* reports](). Take Tortoise, for instance, a startup that claims to have created the [first remote-controlled store on wheels](), The company has dispatched its adorable mobile stores at various venues, selling popcorn and cotton candy at the Mall of America and several NBA and NHL games. So what's the advantage over a regular vending machine? Tortoise co-founder Dmitry Shevelenko told *Axios* the robots facilitate "transactions that would likely not have happened if we hadn’t been there." In other words, people are more likely to buy candy if the candy comes to them, not the other way around. ## Come to Me Rather than relying on cutting edge autonomous driving sensors, Tortoise's stores are controlled and monitored by staff at the company's headquarters in Mexico City. Shevelenko told *Axios* that they work best at "any location where you have long lines, a lot of food traffic or a captive audience, or ideally some combination of the three." Boxes strapped to a wheeled base can be opened with a tap of a credit card. Once open, customers can then retrieve their product. It may not be the most flattering portrait of the current state of humanity, given the countless conveniences modern day life already affords us like Instacart or Uber Eats — but there are far worse things in the world than making a robotic friend while waiting in line at an amusement park. **READ MORE:** [Robot stores-on-wheels are making inroads]() \[*Axios*\] **More on robots:** *[Sad Delivery Robot Gets Lost In The Woods]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()