China and Japan have unleashed a fleet of delivery robots for a test program in Bejing and Shenzhen. Food delivery giant Meituan-Dianping has partnered with 10 hotels and office buildings to test a new mobile delivery robot to carry food deliveries to students and office workers at their desks or dorm rooms. Unlike other delivery bots, these variants are designed to navigate both elevators and stairs to bring the order directly to your door -- and they do so with a'smile" However, the program still relies on a human delivery person to bring the food to the office building lobby or carry it onto the university campus, but once there the robot's take over. Meituan-Dianping has targeted offices and universities in part because their layouts are easier to navigate than bustling city centers. The robots can navigate both elevators and stairs.

Starship Technologies of Greenwich in London has built a robot that is starting trials delivering meals, groceries and parcels. Four firms in Britain and Germany are involved. But will the robots be able to navigate safely between business and customer?