Robots and drones pick up delivery jobs in the West as humans face coronavirus risk
18 April, 2020
What appears like a rolling picnic cooler stops at the crosswalk, waits for a car to pass and then navigates its way at a relaxed pace down the sidewalk in suburban Washington.
Three blocks away, Jake Williams and his three-year-old daughter Emilia wait for the delivery robot and remove bags with pizza, fresh fruit and a loaf of French bread from the local Broad Branch Market.
"We can't go in to the shops nowadays," says Williams, among those locked down as a result of virus pandemic. "And it's really fun for her."
The Starship delivery robots have observed surging demand in a large number of cities all over the world, with consumers staying home and virus risks growing for both shoppers and delivery workers.
Starship began dealing with the Broad Branch found in early April, when the part store was forced to near shoppers since it was too compact to make sure proper social distancing.
Retail store owner Tracy Stannard said a good fleet as high as 10 robots every day, managed by Starship, helps the marketplace meet demands in a nearby. The store handles 60 to 70 deliveries daily, half by robot.
"Some people demand the robot, they don't really even care about the groceries," Stannard said. "It's cute to look at them roaming a nearby and it makes people happy."
Robot deliveries from Starship and a small number of other companies meet only a tiny fraction of foodstuff deliveries, but highlight a need in a period of physical distancing and pandemic fears.
The jump popular comes as consumers visit a trip to the grocery store as a perilous adventure, and retail staff members are scrambling to keep safe.
More than 40 supermarket employees in the US have died from the virus, according to a Washington Content tally. And delivery personnel around the US have staged protests to press protection demands.
Expanding demand
San Francisco-based Starship Technology, created by several Skype founders, is gearing up to operate in the areas around Washington and recently launched with retailers on Tempe, Arizona, and on cities on Britain and California.
The rolling devices operate autonomously at a speed of around six kilometers (four miles) per hour and can carry around three bags of goods.
"The demand for contactless delivery offers expanded exponentially in new weeks," said Ryan Tuohy, vice president of Starship.
"Our robots happen to be doing autonomous deliveries found in five countries and we're grateful our robots could make life a little bit easier for everyone."
A handful of others also has been upgrading.
Silicon Valley startup Nuro recently began delivering groceries in the Houston area in partnership with grocery giant Kroger with its R2 autonomous robot, which travels on streets at boosts to 40 kilometers (25 miles) each hour and can transport some 190 kilos (400 pounds).
Nuro is moving to expand its provider and has received acceptance in California to use on public roads.
"We did not foresee our service assisting to keep Americans safe from contagion. But the COVID-19 pandemic possesses expedited the public need for contactless delivery offerings," Nuro's David Estrada explained in a blog page post.
"Times like these reinforce the necessity for autonomous delivery services like Nuro, and how they can benefit communities."
Delivery robots from Postmates, a delivery startup, are also seen on the streets in California. And very similar autonomous robots are being tested by Amazon.
Above the fray?
Drone delivery is going to be another area where interest keeps growing because of the pandemic.
Wing, the drone startup created by Google mother or father Alphabet, possesses seen a jump popular in its pilot assignments found in rural southwestern Virginia -- where it provides non-prescription medicines and different products from the Walgreens chain -- and found in Australia and Finland, a good company spokesman said.
"While we recognize that service will get a small pain relief during this time, we hope it means one less visit to the store for items our consumers might need, and provides a competent way for local businesses to attain their customers found in a time when limiting human-to-human call is important." Wing CEO James Ryan Burgess stated.
Amazon and others have continued testing drone deliveries, but these systems are at the mercy of regulatory barriers which have prevented deployment.
Zipline, a California startup which includes been delivering medical items by drone in Africa, possesses indicated it again wants offer similar services in the US once it gets regulatory approval.
"Zipline is helping different countries mount their national response work to #COVID19," the company said in a good tweet. "As an American business in a period of crisis, you want to help our country aswell."
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