[AJU VIDEO] Self-driving robots to start delivery in Europe

By Park Sae-jin Posted : July 7, 2016, 10:59 Updated : July 7, 2016, 10:59
[Courtesy of Starship Technologies YouTube Channel]

Self-driving robots will soon roam the streets of London, Dusseldorf in Germany, and Bern in Switzerland to deliver packages and groceries.  The producer plans to deploy it in other European cities and probably the United States if its initial service is successful. 

Estonian robot maker Starship Technologies, founded by Skype, is to start a test program in July. The robot startup has already partnered with food package delivery companies to see if their idea could actually become a reality.

There are a few companies working on unmanned delivery systems such as Amazon, the online commerce giant trying to develop drone deliveries which are handy when delivering urgent packages to hard-to-reach places such as mountainous areas and remote islands.

But Starship's robot is somewhat different. It's not flying but navigates on six wheels in the streets using GPS to find whereabouts. Equipped with a radar and a camera, it can go around obstacles and observe traffic rules.

The robot can drive in a three to four-kilometer radius, monitored by human operators, and its producer claims the six-wheeled delivery robot has not been involved in a single incident during its test run covering over 8,000 kilometers.

Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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