The job of a delivery driver can be a stressful and tedious task, racing around a town in order to make multiple delivery deadlines to dozens of houses each night. It has the potential to cause accidents for drivers who are in a rush and often has larger costs associated on companies to employ numerous drivers for busy nights. In 2014, Starship Technologies created a robot as a solution to food delivery which can distribute food to nearby customers autonomously, using the sidewalk alongside pedestrians. This technology is now being tested in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland, to see how practical the delivery robot’s services truly are.

The delivery robot transports to any customer within a three to five kilometre radius, travelling at an average speed of six km/h. At this speed the robot will take anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes to complete its journey to the consumers door, at which point the customer will be required to enter a unique pin code they were sent when they placed the order. Once the code is entered on the robot, the lid can be opened to access the food, allowing the empty robot to navigate back to the restaurant for the next delivery.

Each delivery robot is fully electric and contains four motors to power its six wheels. All this power is held in lithium batteries, which can last for up to three hours on a single charge. Furthermore, built into the robot is a 360-degree camera, as well as inferred and ultrasonic sensors which allow the robots to navigate autonomously. All robots are monitored by a human in a control centre, enabling them to take control at any time if required.

In order to avoid any theft or damage to the robot, the delivery robot contains a total of nine cameras which can capture the actions of any possible attacker. The delivery robot also features two-way audio so the operator can speak to and hear anyone who comes into contact with the robot and location tracking, allowing the robot to be found right down to the nearest inch if it is lost.

Self-maneuvering robotics, such as the delivery robot can be a big help in cutting costs and making processes more efficient. From measuring size and detecting parts placement to guiding robotics, motion control and alignment monitoring, Eclipse uses its expertise in optics and image processing to provide you with innovative material handling methods and technology applications.

Source: Gizmag