As companies around the globe move to cash in on the rapidly emerging last-mile delivery segment, autonomous methods of delivery, from self-driving vans to drones to mall delivery robots, are being developed to help get everything from pizzas to parcels into the hands of customers.
Autonomous Delivery Robots Go Mainstream [Photos]
In January 2019, Amazon announced it would begin testing a new, all-electric, robotic delivery system called Scout. It is a cooler-sized, six-wheeled robot delivery system that rolls along city sidewalks at walking speeds.
Photo: Amazon
Boxbot, a last-mile logistics and automated vehicle startup company founded by veteran Tesla and Uber engineers, allows recipients to schedule their delivery at a time of their choosing (including evenings).
Photo: Boxbot
In June 2019, Amazon unveiled its latest drone design at the company’s re:MARS (Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space) Conference that is capable of delivering packages to customers in less than 30 minutes.
Photo: Amazon
At CES in January 2019, Continental showcased an integrated urban delivery system that includes autonomous vehicles carrying dog-sized, parcel carrying robots.
Photo by Jim Park
The FedEx Same Day Bot is a six-wheeled device has a top speed of 10 mph and can carry about 100 pounds. FedEx says it can navigate unpaved surfaces, curbs, and even steps.
Photo: FedEx
Domino's will begin delivering pizza using self-driving robots in the Houston area later this year. The company will use delivery vehicles from the Silicon Valley startup Nuro.
Photo: Nuro
Ford's Digit delivery robot is designed to not only approximate the look of a human, but to walk like one, too. Digit can go up and down stairs, walk naturally through uneven terrain, and even react to things like being bumped without losing its balance and falling over.
Photo: Ford Motor Company
Launched by former Skype co-founders, Starship Technologies plans to introduce fleets of small delivery robotsfor businesses such as parcel delivery firms or grocery stores.
Photo: Starship Technologies
Robots are becoming commonplace in applications outside of last-mile, as well. Ryder's Fetch Robotics TagSurveyor robots are performing automated cycle counting and reducing inventory loss in Ryder System warehouses by collecting, locating, and tracking RFID tags on products and bins.
Photo: Ryder System
ZF's "Hexacopter" is already moving spare parts such as sensors or control cards from the central warehouse to work areas at a production facility in Germany. In the long term, packages could even be delivered outside of factory premises.
Photo: ZF