Status: 02.07.2021 3:57 p.m.
The topic of automated parcel delivery has gained further attention due to the pandemic. The online group Amazon will in future also have the technology for its delivery robots developed in Finland.
While Amazon boss Jeff Bezos wants to venture into space, his company is planning progress in the fully automated delivery of goods on sidewalks: Amazon is building a development center for its “Scout” delivery robots in Finland. The team in Helsinki, which initially has a good two dozen employees, will, among other things, develop 3D software with which the vehicles can avoid obstacles, the online retailer said. The software should simulate the complexity of real life and ensure that the robot can deliver goods safely, according to a company blog. It cannot therefore be ruled out that the currently small team will grow.
A promising topic
Amazon has so far let the small robots drive in four locations in the United States. In addition to Helsinki, the technology for this is also being developed in development centers in Seattle, Cambridge and also in Tübingen. The topic of automatic delivery of goods has long been considered promising. For logistics companies and online retailers who, like Amazon, also rely on their own delivery, a mature technology would be helpful in order to save costs.
Especially the so-called last mile, i.e. the last delivery step until the goods are handed over to the customer, is considered extremely cost-intensive in the logistics industry and therefore particularly interesting for robot technology.
Corona attracts more attention
The corona pandemic and the related curfews and lockdowns as well as the boom in online trading have once again drawn the attention of many investors in particular to this technology, which has the potential to completely change the transport industry. In addition to Amazon, there are therefore many other companies that deal with automated delivery.
Starship is one of the well-known industry representatives, whose vehicles are also reminiscent of the Amazon variant Scout. Starship was founded in 2014. In April 2021, the company announced that it had already made 1.5 million autonomous deliveries.
Google and FedEX are there
The Google subsidiary Waymo, like many other start-ups and technology companies, also works on delivery robots. And a few days ago the logistics group FedEx announced a collaboration with the US robot company Nuro with the aim of using robot vehicles for delivery. Nuro robots are already delivering food for the Domino’s pizza chain and goods for the Kroger supermarket chain in the Houston area.
In China, the Alibaba logistics subsidiary Cainiao is working on delivery robots. For the coming year, Cainiao plans to provide 1,000 robots in China, which will initially be used on university campuses and in smaller residential communities.
Violence against robots
This has to do with simple practical problems that all manufacturers still face despite advanced technology. Delivery robots sometimes find it difficult to negotiate curbs or potholes, collisions in traffic cannot be ruled out, roads have to be crossed, or a path can suddenly be blocked.
The human factor and the interaction between man and machine are also among the complex questions that have to be answered. It cannot be ruled out that some pedestrians may feel disturbed or uncomfortable when they have to share the sidewalk with robots in the future.
Occasionally there were acts of vandalism, as Starship co-founder Ahti Heinla reported to the magazine “Business Insider” some time ago. Passers-by would have kicked the robots. That is not a problem, the machine just keeps going, says Heinla. In addition, the devices are equipped with many cameras and sirens. Anyone who becomes violent must therefore expect to be discovered.