" alt="" title=""/>Hoping to capitalize on rising demand for home deliveries, a Singapore tech company has deployed two robots to bring residents their groceries to part of the city-state.
The robot services developed by OTSAW Digital and both called “Camello” were offered to 700 households in a one-year test.
Users can book delivery spots for their milk and eggs, and an app notifies them when the robot reaches a pick-up point, usually the lobby of an apartment building.
The robots, which are equipped with 3D sensors, a camera and two compartments, each of which can hold up to 20 kg of food or parcels ordered online, deliver four or five deliveries per day on weekdays and are ready for half a day on Saturday.
They use ultraviolet light to sanitize themselves after every trip, said Ling Ting Ming, managing director of OTSAW Digital.
“Especially during this pandemic, everyone sees contactless and peopleless,” he said.
For the time being, employees accompany the robots on their laps to ensure that no problems arise.
Tashfique Haider, a 25-year-old student who tried the service, said it could be especially helpful for the elderly so they wouldn’t have to carry goods home.
But a passer-by feared the technology might be too much trouble for some.
“The younger customers will like it. I don’t think they (the older generation) will like it because these are devices that younger people like,” said housewife Xue Ya Xin, 36.
Similarly, Domino’s Pizza Inc and Nuro Inc, a Silicon Valley startup, said Monday that they will be launching a robotic pizza delivery service in Houston this week to cater to the increasing online orders during the pandemic.
With small, low-speed vehicles transporting packages instead of people, Nuro has a step ahead of other autonomous vehicle startups in gaining government approvals. It received US approval to launch unmanned delivery services last year.
Nuro recently raised $ 500 million, including an equity investment from Woven Capital, the mobility investment arm of a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp., whose total valuation was more than $ 5 billion.
The delivery service will begin at a Domino store in Houston before expanding as part of a long-term partnership to serve customers in many other locations, said Cosimo Leipold, director of partner relations at Nuro.
“It is generally difficult for large companies to hire enough drivers to meet their delivery needs,” said Leipold in a statement emailed to Reuters.
Nuro, who has already worked with retailers Kroger Co, Walmart Inc and CVS Health Corp to supply groceries and prescriptions, nearly tripled in the first three months of the pandemic, according to Leipold.
Houston, the fourth largest US city, has one of the highest road death rates in the country. “Houston’s streets create challenging scenarios for working with our technology,” added Leipold.
Nuro and Domino’s announced in 2019 that they would start delivering robot pizza by the end of this year. “Nuro and Domino took a measured approach to prioritize a smooth and secure deployment,” said Leipold.
Founded in 2016 by two former Google engineers, Nuro previously raised $ 940 million from the SoftBank Vision Fund.
(With contributions from agencies)
