Amazon field testing sidewalk robot delivery system
Called Amazon Scout, the six-wheeled electric-powered vehicle is the size of a small cooler, and rolls along sidewalks at a walking pace. The company says it has begun a pilot program using six of the devices to deliver packages to customers in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, during daylight hours Monday through Friday.
Customers in Snohomish County will order products online as they normally do, but their Amazon packages may be delivered either by one of Amazon’s partner carriers or by Amazon Scout. In the latter case, the devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee.
“We developed Amazon Scout at our research and development lab in Seattle, ensuring the devices can safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians, and anything else in their path,” says Sean Scott, vice president of Amazon Scout. “We are happy to welcome Amazon Scout to our growing suite of innovative delivery solutions for customers and look forward to taking the learnings from this first neighborhood so Amazon Scout can, over time, provide even more sustainability and convenience to customer deliveries.”
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