Vayu Robotics debuted what it says is the world’s first on-road delivery robot today in San Francisco. They’ve also signed an agreement with an unnamed “large e-commerce player” for 2,500 robots which will enable “ultra-fast goods delivery.”
The robot is Vayu One, and it looks something like a very miniaturized version of an Amazon delivery truck. About waist-high and six feet long, Vayu One can carry 100 pounds in multiple packages of varying sizes to multiple destinations, at a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour. The robot does not use lidar for guidance, relying instead on “passive sensors,” AKA cameras, and Value’s proprietary AI mobility software. It also responds to voice command.
The company is billing it as the first on-road delivery robot, and a company representative says that regulatory permissions to operate on public roads were requested and obtained, though they will vary by city and state across the United States.
The Vayu solution is intended to be a sort of Goldilocks solution for delivery needs: just the right size.
Small and time-sensitive packages are going to be best for airborne drones, like the ones Amazon, Walmart and Google, and Manna are operating right now. Large and heavy packages will likely remain the province of car and truck-sized delivery vehicles, generally with human operators for at least some years. But mid-sized packages like groceries or medium-sized electronics or toilet paper need a larger solution than airborne drones can accommodate, while not needing the space that a furniture delivery truck offers.
That requires a mobile robot with signifiant capacity and range. It also requires a robot that can navigate on streets and sidewalks safely, handle bumps and potholes, and provide the right product for the right delivery address.
Vayu One accomplishes that by using the sides of streets, like bike paths, as well as sidewalks. It won’t deliver right to the door, but it does lift out the right package just for you and then close, so customers won’t get the wrong products or packages. But you do have to come out of your home and pick up your delivery, meaning the solution will be challenged in condo or high-rise situations (unless you have a very understanding doorman).
It’s interesting that Vayu One does not use lidar, an active guidance system that used pulsed lasers to sense the world around it in 3D. The CEO and co-founder is also the former CEO of lidar manufacturer Velodyne. Also interesting: AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton is an advisor to Vayu Robotics.
If you’re wondering how Vayu One is the world’s first on-road delivery robot when Starship Technologies has a robot that goes on sidewalks and, presumably, the occasional road, and says it has already completed over 6 million autonomous deliveries, and we’ve seen the Nuro R2 and R3, I did too.
Vayu says these are sidewalk-based and not actually for roads.
“The unique set of technologies we have developed at Vayu have allowed us to solve problems that have plagued delivery robots over the past decade, and finally create a solution that can actually be deployed at scale and enable the cheap transport of goods everywhere” Vayu Robotics CEO Anand Gopalan said in a statement.
It appears, however, the company has its sights set higher than just delivery, and just wheeled robots.
Gopalan also said that Vayu’s software technology will enable the movement of quadrupedal and bipedal robots, enabling further market expansion.
