Refraction AI, a last-mile, autonomous robot delivery company, announced today it has deployed a fleet of its self-driving vehicles to provide energy-efficient meal deliveries at two Chick-fil-A restaurants located in downtown Austin, Texas. Refraction's innovative approach to last-mile delivery makes the cost, safety and sustainability benefits of self-driving technology available today by serving the rapidly growing demand for goods delivery across multiple categories.

Refraction's Robot-as-a-Service platform combines self-driving technology, tele-operations and a delivery robot that travels in the margin of the road or in a bike lane – avoiding the speed, distance and regulatory constraints of being on the sidewalk, without incurring the safety, technology and cost challenges of full-size autonomous vehicles. Using this approach Refraction is able to complete last-mile deliveries with 90% lower carbon emissions, 80% less energy consumption, at a fraction of the cost of conventional delivery.

Refraction AI develops and operates last-mile, autonomous robot delivery systems for restaurant, grocery and retail customers, including both robot-as-a-service and delivery-as-a-service business models. Looking for a way to realize the benefits of self-driving technology today, co-founders Matt Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan set their sights squarely on last-mile goods delivery. Joined by transportation entrepreneur and CEO Luke Schneider, and an experienced leadership team, Refraction has developed an offering designed to affordably meet the surging demand for delivery in the restaurant, grocery and retail categories, while raising the bar for safety, quality and performance.