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The next time you order “curbside delivery” from the Chick-fil-A at Kirby Drive and the Southwest Freeway, one of the nation’s most successful Chick-fil-As, don’t be surprised if your spicy chicken sandwich and waffle fries are delivered by a driverless, three-wheeled electric vehicle that looks like a cross between a Big Wheels kiddie car and the Mars Rover.

This is a first in Houston. Chick-fil-A has partnered with Factiona California-based company developing autonomous (driverless) fleets. Earlier this week, I sat down with Ain McKendrick, Faction’s founder and CEO, who explained how Chick-fil-A’s futuristic curbside delivery system works.

The key word is “curbside.” Unlike popular food delivery providers like DoorDash and UberEats, Faction’s robotic vehicles don’t involve a human driver who will bring the food to your door, hoping to receive a tip.

When a guard vehicle delivers your food, you will receive a message that the vehicle has arrived, and you will walk to the curb and collect your food from the car parked in front of your house. Put on some clothes, please. The neighbors can see you.

When you order from the Kirby/Southwest Chick-fil-A on the Chick-fil-A app and click delivery, you’ll have a choice of how you want your food delivered to your door. You can always request DoorDash or another service. If you choose “curbside delivery,” watch for a Faction vehicle to pull up to your house. You’ll open the storage door, open the separate boxes that keep your sandwiches and fries warm and your soda cold, and head back inside to dig in.

Currently, the Kirby/Southwest Freeway Chick-fil-A restaurant uses two Faction vehicles to supplement regular delivery cars during peak hours. Faction promises (they phrase this claim as “estimates”) that you’ll get your food within 30 minutes. Currently, human “supervisors” accompany the vehicles as they map out the restaurant’s four-mile delivery zone. Faction tracks the progress of its vehicles on a video board at the base to ensure each delivery goes smoothly.

Electric vehicles are licensed and insured and can travel 75 miles per hour on highways. But because of Houston’s notorious traffic, Faction programmed vehicles to stay on surface streets and below the speed limit. That’s how I get around too. I was tired of this inexplicable traffic jam on the Southwest Freeway as it turns toward downtown.

McKendrick said the driverless vehicles will have learned Houston’s streets well enough by August to operate without human supervisors.

Will customers accept having their Chick-fil-A food delivered to them by autonomous vehicles? So far it’s not a problem. In fact, McKendrick said some customers wait outside with their phone cameras ready to share photos of the delivery. Sharing their waffle fries is another story.

I’m skeptical about electric and driverless vehicles. I asked McKendrick…

What happens if a dog runs in front of a patrol vehicle? He said it would automatically stop for the dog.

What if there is a child’s birthday party in my neighborhood and there is no parking in front of my house? He said the vehicle will pull over and flash warning lights until the customer picks up their food.

So what does Chick-fil-A stand to gain by partnering with Faction? Jesse Chaluh, owner of Kirby/Southwest Freeway Chick-fil-A, said it’s a more efficient way to offer delivery service to his customers. He believes his restaurant will eventually need five or more shift vehicles to meet demand.

While each vehicle currently delivers one order to one customer per trip, eventually the technology will improve and each vehicle will be able to make multiple deliveries during each foray into Houston’s streets.