Posted on 04/16/2016 9:10:46 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Robots may beat drones in race to deliver packages
By Carolyn Said
Updated 7:53 pm, Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Forget flying drones. When it comes to predictions on what sci-fi method might bring you hot pizza, aspirin, groceries or new shoes, some experts bet that delivery robots rolling down sidewalks will beat out airborne couriers.
Getting your purchases to your front door the last mile challenge is an obsession throughout the multibillion-dollar logistics and e-commerce industries. While Amazon, Google and Walmart pursue flying delivery drones, some much smaller companies are quietly working on simpler autonomous solutions anchored on terra firma. Theyve crafted suitcase-size, battery-powered, driverless machines on wheels that can glide along on sidewalks using sensors to avoid collisions.
South San Francisco startup Dispatch on Wednesday scored a $2 million investment round led by Andreessen Horowitz to develop a delivery robot named Carry. Estonias Starship Technologies, started by two of the folks behind Skype, is far along on its own eponymous bot and doing a lot of testing in Walmarts home state of Arkansas, stirring speculation that the retail juggernaut is interested. Dominos Pizza recently unveiled DRU, or Domino Robotic Unit, a pizza-delivery robot developed by the Australian military. A handful of other startups are hard at work.
These R2D2-like drones ... make a lot of sense for particularly dense places, like city centers, where freight and delivery vehicles are simply running out of space on the roads during rush hours and lunchtimes, said Paul Mackie, a spokesman for the Mobility Lab, which researches advanced transportation options.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
It will take thieves five minutes to figure out how to steal either what’s in it or the whole thing.
I guess they are working on that.
Stun guns with laser sights will take care of that.
yes it would!! Would it be legal?
Probably not. It sure would be fun to watch tho.
I think you have stated why this plan will never “fly.”
Security concerns.
Dominos Pizza recently unveiled DRU, or Domino Robotic Unit, a pizza-delivery robot developed by the Australian military.
...
Now the hood can get its pizza again.
I like you’re idea of a good time!
a few beers, BBQ, video of Obama’s sons getting shocked :)
Amazon builds a Johnny Cab to drive a non human delivery vehicle right to your doorstep.
A drone is a flying robot.
You are right. Words have evolved in a curious way. These days a drone means a flying robot, while a robot means a terrestrial robot.
and a freeper is a office chair that burps and scratches its but
See a lot more of this as the 15.00 min wage goes national.
Then what is an android? Could a drone with a human like face on it be an android. Or heck is it just an operating system for hand held devices and all other meanings gone?
“Now the hood can get its pizza again.”
My first thought as well.
Looks just like a robot in Star Wars except that one had legs.
For a while, it was a popular game to stand in front of them, watch them sense you, come to a stop -- and beep for you to get out of the way.
IIRC, they used something like the sonic focusing sensors on Polaroid cameras to detect obstacles.
They stayed around for quite a while, and apparently were successful at doing their job -- until the janitors waxed over their path-guidance stripes several times with UV-absorbing wax...
It is like “window.” These days it is often difficult to tell what people mean when they say “window,” unless you pay close attention to context. Is it a opening in the wall covered with glass or Microsoft Window Operating System? One powerful brand name can overwhelm an existing meaning of a word.
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