Pizza has replaced porn as the testing ground for new technology

BI Screenshot/Domino's

The Domino's pizza delivery robot

Porn was early to the web. And before that, the story (perhaps apocryphal) goes that the porn industry's use of VHS videotapes caused the rival Betamax format to fall out of favor.

But a new industry has stolen porn's role as the vanguard for new technology: Pizza.

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It's no exaggeration to say that the makers of the lactose-laden fast food are on the cutting edge of technology.

Last week, Domino's announced plans to test rolling delivery robots in Australia that will ferry pies directly to customers' doorsteps. Other companies are experimenting with robo-deliveries, including Amazon and Google, which are developing drones. But Domino's claim that it will be offering the service in some areas in six months means it will beat everyone to the punch.

How widely Domino's ultimately deploys the robots remains to be seen, and sure, the announcement, which resulted in a wave of media coverage, is as much about marketing as it is about new business models.

Tech pioneers

But the pizza industry has been ahead of the curve on technology for years, going back to the early mobile apps and social media efforts that the companies offered.

Some of the technology might seem kind of silly, like the so-called Easy Order button that Domino's gave to some customers in the UK in November. Press the big plastic button, and an order is instantly transmitted to a nearby franchise. Yet it's basically the same thing as the Dash instant-order buttons that Amazon introduced last year for many of the products it sells.

Domino's

Both Dominos and Pizza Hut offer pizza tracking smartphone apps that allow you to follow your pie's progress, from the oven to your house, in real time.

But there's more.

• Want to order a pizza by tweeting an emoji? Check.
• Want to order a pizza by talking to a Siri-like virtual assistant? Check.
• The Apple Watch is still trying to prove itself as a must-have consumer gadget. But Domino's already has an app for it.
• Pizza Hut even experimented with eye-tracking technology last year, with an electronic menu that displays an image of various toppings and lets you select toppings just by looking at them.

Why is pizza the new porn?

Both products cater to the most primal of urges. Both involve a product that's basically a commodity, with little to distinguish one offering from another. And in the modern, on-demand world we live in, those conditions beg for technology.

Papa John's and Domino's each generate about half of their US sales from digital platforms. Papa John's lists keeping up with information technology among the key "risk factors" in its annual report, while the Domino's annual report cites technological innovation as "vital" to the company's brand and long-term success.

So as you order your pizza this weekend, using a smartphone app or by tweeting an emoji, take comfort in the fact that you're not just satisfying a primal urge - you're helping to advance the state of technology.

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