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FedEx Turns To Segway Inventor To Build Delivery Robot (cnn.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

FedEx is the latest company to join the delivery robot craze. The company said Wednesday it will test a six-wheeled, autonomous robot called the SameDay Bot in Memphis, Tenn. this summer and plans to expand to more cities. From a report: It's partnering with major brands, including Walmart, Target, Pizza Hut and AutoZone, to understand how delivery robots could help other businesses. FedEx's interest highlights how businesses are increasingly focused on automating deliveries. It also raises concerns about the impact on cities and employment, as robots crowd sidewalks and delivery jobs are automated. FedEx's robot has a top speed of 10 mph and can carry about 100 pounds. A company spokesman said its typical speed would vary depending on the route. The robot relies on sensors typically used on self-driving cars to identify and avoid pedestrians.

38 comments

  1. 6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by LifesABeach · · Score: 3, Funny

    I will be interested to see it go up 4 or 5 flights of stairs.

    1. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'll be interested to see them trivially robbed, over and over.

    2. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Dusanyu · · Score: 1

      it will also be interesting to see how this handles the winter all of these images show a bot with wheels at are too small to handle deep snow. Drop these bots off in a place like Wisconsin, Minnesota or Maine and there wil lbe a delivery boy picking this thin up loading it on the back of a truck and finishing the job the "old timey" way.

    3. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      I will be interested to see it go up 4 or 5 flights of stairs.

      FedEx has licensed Dalek IP and technology to do this.

      --
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    4. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If these did become popular, it's not too hard to imagine buildings installing a dumbwaiter that could be used by these robots. If it's a building that already has an elevator, there's no reason you could program the robot to use that and develop a way for them to interface with existing systems. Another alternative is that a robot can deliver it to a particular location and a drone can always carry it up to a balcony assuming it's not anything too heavy.

    5. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So now everybody needs to add balconies so idiot drones can deliver packages?

    6. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ultimately these must-adopt-convenience idiots will want sliding-belt conveyors to every bedroom. Appeasing laziness to this extent is a race to the bottom.

    7. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Seems like it would be less work to just make a robot with legs that can walk up/down stairs. That also makes it easier to navigate other obstacles easier.

    8. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by grumbel · · Score: 1

      This looks to be based on on the iBot wheelchair, which is capable of climbing stairs.

    9. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Where do you think Segway came from in the first place?

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    10. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut up you dumbass.

    11. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Freischutz · · Score: 1

      If these did become popular ....

      Package thieves will have a field day with these things unless they install an auto targeting taser array and a 360 degree teargas dispenser system.

    12. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      I look forward to it plowing part of my driveway. Some times there is a foot of snow and I don't get to it right away.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    13. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mk. II will be the ED-209.

    14. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by scottrocket · · Score: 1

      If these did become popular, it's not too hard to imagine buildings installing a dumbwaiter that could be used by these robots. If it's a building that already has an elevator, there's no reason you could program the robot to use that and develop a way for them to interface with existing systems. Another alternative is that a robot can deliver it to a particular location and a drone can always carry it up to a balcony assuming it's not anything too heavy.

      If the bots+packages are not too heavy, cities & private entities could invest in cycleways for bicyclists shared with delivery bots, either side-by-side, or bots suspended and traveling from underneath the bicycle path. I'm guessing that some cabled lowering mechanism could be used for the descent and hand off to a street bot - details, details...

    15. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by scottrocket · · Score: 1

      If these did become popular, it's not too hard to imagine buildings installing a dumbwaiter that could be used by these robots. If it's a building that already has an elevator, there's no reason you could program the robot to use that and develop a way for them to interface with existing systems. Another alternative is that a robot can deliver it to a particular location and a drone can always carry it up to a balcony assuming it's not anything too heavy.

      If the bots+packages are not too heavy, cities & private entities could invest in cycleways for bicyclists shared with delivery bots, either side-by-side, or bots suspended and traveling from underneath the bicycle path. I'm guessing that some cabled lowering mechanism could be used for the descent and hand off to a street bot - details, details...

      It just occurred to me that some may not know that I was referring to an elevated cycleway, sort of like a monorail for bicycles. Sorry.

    16. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by johnsie · · Score: 1

      I'm glad I got that joke. Wish I had mod points to mod up.

    17. Re:6 Wheels, Just Like NASA's Mars Rovers by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      And unemployed delivery guys will surround them with "pedestrian" mannequins, trapping them until their batteries die.

  2. creimer inquiring discreetly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    does it deliver food

    1. Re:creimer inquiring discreetly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      did you know that one creimer poop can feed a family of flies for 45 years?

  3. VBA. Yes, Visual Basic for Applications by Oh+really+now · · Score: 1

    Maybe FedEx should spend some time trying to figure out how to get their desktop shipping software built on something a little more modern before they go trying to figure out autonomous robots. Just sayin' .

  4. Carry me home from the bar, maybe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After they're done delivering stuff all day, maybe toss a magnetic livery sign on it and a seat up top. 10mph ought be safe enough, eh?

  5. Will it have bones? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bones that see a word,
    bones that don't.

    Your eye's the one that sees the word,
    your butt's the one that don't.

  6. ripe for vandals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if i were a kid again there would be a game of tipping these things over

  7. Subways by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    and maybe a light rail. I'm surprised retail doesn't push for them. Kinda like how Disneyland hides stuff.

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  8. Slashdotters don't know FIRST by BenJeremy · · Score: 1

    Kinda sad, really.

    Dean Kamen helped found FIRST Robotics 30 years ago. It's likely he has some insight into the subject. That no Slashdotters have mentioned this at this point says a lot about the crowd that hangs out here these days.

    There was a time when the denizens of /. not only knew about FIRST, but were active in supporting their activities, either as mentors or volunteers.

    1. Re:Slashdotters don't know FIRST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too bad he did nothing to curb the biggest tech hype train in the history of humanity. "It", "Ginger", etc. Going to reshape cities, etc, etc.

    2. Re: Slashdotters don't know FIRST by Cardcaptor_RLH85 · · Score: 1

      Very true. In fact, I'm volunteering at Kettering University District Event #1 this weekend and the team I mentor will be competing at Kettering University District Event #2 next week. The FIRST Robotics Competition is why I'm in technology in the first place.

  9. Didn't he died? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't the segway inventor go off a cliff and die or something?

    1. Re:Didn't he died? by whh3 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I thought the exact same thing. Turns out that we mistakenly confused the owner of Segway with the inventor. The owner of the company that owned the rights to the name Segway fell off a cliff and died.

      I was confused, too. Thanks for prompting me to look up this information!

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    2. Re:Didn't he died? by somepunk · · Score: 1

      The Slashdot article

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  10. On sidewalks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In theory wheelchairs are the only motorized vehicles allowed on sidewalks (there's some legal fudging about Segways and similar which treats them as mobility devices)

  11. People are assholes. by TomBauserman · · Score: 1

    People are going to steal packages, pizzas. They're also going to vandalize the robots.

    1. Re:People are assholes. by misnohmer · · Score: 1

      They will quickly learn that it's easier to rip off a mailbox than a delivery robot. Robot is not always in the same spot, so you can't just sneak up to it at 4am when nobody is looking. Mailbox doesn't have cameras which record evidence and with someone monitoring which will immediately dispatch help if needed. Survival is not about outrunning the bear, it's about running faster than the other guy. Delivery robots will be harder targets than ripping off mailboxes, stealing from porches, or even mugging the delivery guy.

  12. No comedians please. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No one needs to see one of these tooling around with marital aids hot melted/glued all over it.
    Also a basket full of pigeon food on top of it is right out.
    Glued on a Dalek costume with with motion activated "EXTERMINATE"?.. Lets be mature about this.
    Spraying it down with honey in the warm/hot season to attract wasps and hornets or just glue a huge hornet nest to one?
    Catfish bait in high summer?
    Loud speaker that randomly plays gunfire noises?
    Leash stray dogs to it?
    Paint it white with the black letters CIA on it then glue a conspicuous camera on top?
    A bumper sticker/t shirt that says "I passed the Turing test and all I got was this lousy job".

    While I say "No comedians please." this is for those of us here who do not leave our houses/basements. For those whose jobs these will be taking.. No one would blame you.
    Well then there will be election season when these get coated in political bumper stickers.

  13. Because the Segway was a smashing success by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's do it again!

  14. Segue to Segway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whenever I hear the word Segue or Segway I always Segue to this...

    James William "Jimi" Heselden[2][3] OBE (27 March 1948 â" 26 September 2010)[4][5] was a British entrepreneur. A former coal miner, Heselden became wealthy by manufacturing the Hesco bastion barrier system. In 2010, he bought Segway Inc., maker of the Segway personal transport system.[6] Heselden died in 2010 from injuries apparently sustained falling from a cliff while riding his own product.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...