Reuters Albertson Companies, the company that owns Safeway and Jewel-Osco, has partnered with Silicon Valley software startup, Tortoise, to launch a pilot program that uses remote-controlled delivery robots, as reported by TechCrunch. Albertsons and Tortoise will join forces for robot delivery service, reports TechCrunch. The carts will deliver goods to customers who live up to three miles away from the store location. The test will start at two Safeway locations in northern California. The test will start at two Safeway locations in northern California. According to the report, Dmitry Shevelenko, co-founder and president of Tortoise, said that if the operation is successful, he expected the pilot to scale up to other shops within the state and perhaps the west coast.