At first glance, the black and white Robomart vehicle, with its minimalist design and rounded body, looks like a vision of the future. But if you ignore the lack of a steering wheel and human driver, the electric, grocery-filled machine -- about the size of a minivan -- is actually something of a throwback. For much of U.S. history, perishable kitchen items such as produce, milk, eggs and ice arrived outside people's homes on a daily basis, first by horse-drawn wagon and later by truck. This curbside service would eventually fall victim to refrigeration, automobiles and the rise of the supermarket, making weekly shopping trips the modern American norm, according to Boston Hospitality Review. Now Robomart -- a Santa Clara, Calif.-based start-up -- seeks to merge the old with the new.

At first glance, the black and white Robomart, with its minimalist design and rounded body, looks like a vision of the future. But if you ignore the lack of steering wheels and human drivers, the electric vehicle -- about the size of a minivan -- is actually something of a throwback. For much of American history, perishable kitchen items like produce, milk, eggs and ice arrived outside people's homes on a daily basis, first by horse-drawn wagon and later by truck. This curbside service would eventually fall victim to refrigeration, automobiles and the rise of the supermarket, making weekly shopping trips the modern American norm, according to Boston Hospitality Review. Now Robomart -- a Santa Clara, Calif.-based startup -- seeks to merge the old with the new.

The startup assault on the humble neighborhood store continues to intensify. First came Bodega, the terribly named, and mostly misguidedstartup with its mission to bring the non-perishable necessities available at the corner store to the masses and "disrupt" the corner store. Now there's Robomart, which wants to bring the groceries, baked goods and prepared foods of the supermarket aisle to your doorstep with a white-labeled service for wholesalers and big box retailers. The culmination of a ten-year vision from founder Ali Ahmed, Robomart is an autonomous grocery store department on wheels. Robomart is the serial entrepreneur's latest startup.