Technology is getting more and more advanced, and our life gets easier with every new innovation.
Now, in times of pizza delivery, skype meetings, online shopping and even grocery deliveries, who really needs to step outside anymore?!
Well now, this has been taken a step further - now even the delivery guy doesn't need to step outside anymore. We're always being told that robots will take over many of our jobs in the future - and it's already started.
How, you ask?
With autonomous, self-driving delivery robots.
It all started about 1 year ago, when the Starship was robot was presented at the Mobile World Congress.
The starship is a six-wheeled, autonomous robot that looks pretty much like a cooler box on wheels.
The company is based in Estonia and was founded by skype creators Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis.
It seems like a pretty simple, straightforward concept:
You order food from a nearby restaurant online or via an App, and instead of a delivery guy, this little autonomous robot drives around the sidewalks of your neighborhood and delivers you your freshly cooked, warm meal. You unlock the "trunk" with your smartphone, pay digitally, and the robot returns home - that's it.
There are multiple cameras outside the body of the device that can help analyze its surroundings and avoid obstacles. The "trunk" can carry up to 22 pounds, and the robot has a speed of 4 mph.
The simplicity is a big benefit towards delivery drones that Amazon and Google are thinking about - this small "box on wheels" can operate with a lot less risk by simply navigating in the neighborhood and staying on the sidewalks.
In June, Starship has officially received the permission from the Washington, DC Department of Transportation to test their delivery program there.
They created the Personal Delivery Device Pilot Act, an act that allows autonomous delivery devices like the Starships to navigate in public areas.
And this is not something exclusive to the US:
On December first, the company "JUST EAT" announced that they will use some Starship robots in Greenwich, London from now on.
The company has a similar concept to deliveroo or foodora: they deliver food from restaurants that don't have their own delivery service.
But Starship is not the only company that offers Delivery Robots!
Famous Pizza chain Dominos already announced in March 2016 that they will start autonomous delivery in New Zealand with their own robots - which are being produced in Australia.
Their device is called DRU, Domino's Robotic Unit, it can hold up to 10 pizzas and can drive around and complete deliveries within a 20 mile radius with a single charge.
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Personal Opinion
I think this idea of an autonomous delivery robot has been long overdue - everybody knows that wages are often the biggest expense of a company, and most jobs are being replaced with robots some time in the future - and it's already started.
The concept is simple and straightforward, but of course there are still some challenges to overcome (What if a pedestrian kicks the device over, or it gets stuck on an uneven ground ?!) but in generally I think it's a great innovation. I'd love to test it out myself one day, and see how user-friendly it actually is!
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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What?
No quadcopters?
I wanna flying robot deliverator!
"Deliverator" should be voted best new word of 2016.
thank you but I stole it...from Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992)
the future will be funny. drones. robots, delievering all the stuff we need in minutes...
Exactly! Everything will be automated, no real humans in charge anymore..
It all has benefits, but downsides as well!
I know a lot of robots are about to get jacked!
So true, I actually read that the company representative said "Luckily, no robot was kicked during the testing process".
exactly, and fused together with weaponry and sent back out into 'the field. .
i bet the 10k btc pizza wasnt delivered this way.
Hahaha! That would have been epic!
You are right, robots are officially taken over people's jobs, wow ...
It's started already, and it will grow even more and affect even more jobs!
Just a thought that popped up: Who will be able to afford pizzas when so many jobs are taken over by robots, offshored, or lost to cheap imports as opposed to local production? No tips for robots, I say 8-).
Good point.
And yes, tips for delivery guys will definitely become outdated!!
who can afford memory on the cloud?
Nice tech savy post. I liked it upvoted and followed.
Thank you and glad to hear that you liked it, appreciate it!
))
Interesting but this will never work in South Africa...not even last a second on the street...it will be taken even its empty.
Yes... good point. They definitely have to come up with something to prevent criminal activity. Although you couldn't really do much with a locked box on wheels without the software and everything.
Wow this is crazy! I didn't know this was possible already.
Maybe they could offer 24h delivery services in some places now, since a robot doesn't care about his work schedule..
You're right, that would be a good idea, at least for things like grocery items that don't have to be prepared fresh!
What the future holds. Unfortunately some scumbags will probably steal him
Yeah... They'd have to figure out a solution for that.
Right now, it would be easy just to pack one of these in your trunk and drive off.
sure..
steal the thingie with the built in tracker and the auto-alarm to the cops.
works for me.
That's amazing!
I'm really impressed by the idea as well! I just hope everything works out and people won't damage the robots..
The singularity is near! Upvoted.