Amazon has slowed down its efforts on Scout, the parcel delivery robot that resembles the shape of a truck with a cooler.
The six-wheeled delivery machine Scout has smashed into the last obstacle it encountered on the street and is gradually being removed by Amazon. Future delivery drones could drop from the sky to ensure they don’t become stuck on the tree’s roots.
Amazon began conducting robotics tests in the year 2019 in Washington state. It then expanded into California, Georgia, and Tennessee. It’s about the dimensions of a cooler and is a smaller version of R2D2. It can follow an autonomous delivery route, make a stop at a client’s house (assuming there aren’t stairs) and then make a hatch open so the package can be picked up.
“During our limited field test for Scout, we worked to create a unique delivery experience, but learned through feedback that there were aspects of the program that weren’t meeting customers’ needs,” an Amazon spokesperson explained. “Consequently, we’re closing the field tests and shifting the program. We’re working with our employees in this transition period and assisting them in finding jobs best suited to their expertise and experience.”
It’s not a complete retirement. The Scout will not be dragged to the woods and shot or forced into the hazard of a robot that can defuse bombs. Instead, this system is being changed.
“Throughout our Scout restricted area check, we labored to create singular supply expertise. However, we realized by suggestions that there have been facets of this system that weren’t assembly clients’ wants,” said Amazon spokesperson Alisa Carroll.
“Consequently, we’re ending our area exams and reorienting this system.”
Following Bloomberg reports, there are about 400 people employed in the company, and nearly everyone will be assigned to different teams, leaving an unstructured crew to search for autonomous robots.
Information regarding the Scout is scarce on the ground. However, its design is similar to robots already in use. In reality, the Scout appears like the products of Starship Technologies, an Estonian company that was a pioneering debut in the field. (In an announcement to The Verge after this story was released, a spokesperson for Starship Technologies said, “[w]e’re a massive believer in self-driving delivery robots. Starship Technologies was the first company to create this kind of technology, and it’s beautiful to see other companies recognizing its possibility.”)
The Scout features six wheels, is powered by an electrical battery and can move at a walking pace. Six devices are being tested in one neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, which will allow them to deliver parcels “in daylight hours” between Monday to Friday. According to Amazon, human supervisors initially accompany these robots during their journeys. This will ensure the robots can “safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path.”
Similar trials are currently underway across the globe and in more closed-off areas like university campuses and office buildings. The low cost of sensors and the advancements in machine learning has made the navigation of this kind of robot relatively simple to manage. When the device does make an error, the dangers are minimal (unlike self-driving vehicles). Amazon Scout Amazon Scout is wheeling down an avenue that could be pretty common within a short time.
Delivery robots are yet to show their value on a massive scale.
It’s a lot of talks; however, it’s evident that Amazon and other companies operating in this field are still trying to solve several problems before delivery robots can become routine. Beyond security and reliability, There are practical issues, such as getting the parcel to the recipient.
Amazon’s Scout robot isn’t able to climb steps at the moment, which means the employees of the company have to collect deliveries from the robot before handing them over to customers on the doorstep. (Some companies are looking into robotic legs to facilitate this process.) There are other legal issues, such as cities, like San Francisco branding delivery robots as nuisances and prohibiting them entirely from sidewalks.
Scott says that the best way to demonstrate that delivery robots are practical is to create effective delivery robots -from the virtual world to the sidewalk. “We have a ladder to the Moon … but we’ve only made it to the first rung of the ladder,” Scott declares. “We’re learning lots, and we’re just getting started.”