Boston Dynamics tries using ‘robot dogs’ for deliveries
Boston Dynamics is testing its robotic quadruped, Spot, as a delivery assistant to help drivers navigate obstacles like stairs and cluttered pathways. The company is currently in talks with logistics firms to move from demonstration videos to a full pilot program.
Why it matters
Automating the 'last-mile' of delivery could significantly increase efficiency for logistics companies and reduce physical strain on human workers.
Boston Dynamics’ robotic quadruped Spot has already found work doing routine factory inspections and patrolling the ruins of Pompeii, but what about deliveries?. The company is testing a new conveyor belt accessory that allows Spot to carry packages from a vehicle and autonomously unload them on a customer’s doorstep in an effort to reduce a delivery drivers’ workload.
While attempts have already been made to expedite and automate deliveries using wheeled robots or aerial drones, humans are still the most efficient way to navigate obstacles like stairs or cluttered pathways in order to get packages from a truck to a doorstep. A demo video shows a driver unloading packages onto Spot for doorstep distribution that Boston Dynamics hopes will be efficient enough to justify buying one of the $75k~ bots.
[Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI1zFxLVkrs]
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