On its website, Marble describes its autonomous delivery devices as “your friendly neighborhood robot.” The company is in discussions with retailers to transport customers’ purchases. It has not publicly announced any clients, said Jackie Erickson, Marble’s director of communications and government relations, but many suggested Dallas as a test market.

The startup, founded by three Carnegie Mellon University graduates, is testing its robots about an hour east of San Francisco in Concord, Calif. It’s discussing pilots with Arlington and with a city in Nevada, Erickson said. Last year, it ran a meal delivery pilot in San Francisco with Yelp 324, a food delivery business that the online review company acquired.

Erickson said Marble would like to have its robots in Dallas in the fall or winter. She said “robot ambassadors” would initially tag along with the deliveries. Customers open the robot by punching in a special code that they receive after their purchase.
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