Delivery robots from Amazon may arrive on the streets sooner than anticipated

Amazon is already testing the idea of using AI-powered humanoids to replace human messengers.

This time around, Amazon is delving deeper into robotics—and not only for warehouse automation.

According to reports, the business is developing humanoid robots that may eventually help or perhaps take the position of delivery drivers. These robots, which function as mobile couriers, are being trained to get out of Amazon’s Rivian electric vans and deliver products straight to customers.

According to people familiar with the initiative, Amazon has already established a humanoid park—a specialized testing area—in the United States. Amazon is depending on independent businesses to provide the actual robot bodies, but it is concentrating on the AI brains that power these bots.

Indoor obstacle races are being held in San Francisco in a simulated space about the size of a local café. These robots should be able to navigate doorsteps, curbs, and stairs, according to Amazon. In essence, the same difficulties that human drivers face on a daily basis.

The idea is a tag team strategy that reduces route durations and improves efficiency by having a person drive the van and a robot perform some of the deliveries. For testing purposes, one robot has already been installed inside a Rivian vehicle.

After testing in the humanoid park concludes, Amazon intends to move the robots from controlled environments into actual neighborhoods. The objective is to demonstrate that these bots can function reliably without assistance from humans.

Humanoid robots are not new to Amazon. It has been testing with robots from Agility Robotics, a U.S. business that specializes in creating robots that can operate alongside humans, in its warehouses.

Peggy Johnson, the CEO of Agility, previously stated that their Digit robot enables staff members to take on supervisory responsibilities, effectively controlling the bots.

Amazon is also making investments in more autonomous delivery systems in the interim. In a significant step toward completely autonomous home delivery, the business received permission in the UK last year to operate delivery drones outside of a pilot’s field of vision.

With the advent of drones, robots, and self-driving cars under its Zoox brand, Amazon is paving the way for a delivery future that is virtually hands-free.