On-demand delivery company Postmates has introduced the newest member of its fleet, Serve, which the company claims is the first robotic delivery device created from the ground up by an on-demand delivery company.
Postmates says that after seven years and hundreds of millions of deliveries, it realized that it was in a unique position to create its very own autonomous delivery vehicle, which combines a patented Socially-Aware-Navigation system with the company’s proprietary Postmates software.
Package Delivery
Package Delivery
Meet the IPP Sites: Reno, Flirtey hope to make medical device delivery more efficient
When sudden cardiac arrests happen, minutes count. There are almost 420,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the United States each year, according to the American Heart Association, and most of them are fatal.
Delivering CPR and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) as soon as possible after an attack starts can more than double a victim’s chance of survival, the AHA says; in fact, a victim’s chances of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent for each minute that passes without defibrillation.
Ford and Walmart partner to deliver goods using self-driving vehicles
On Nov. 14, Ford announced that it is teaming up with Walmart to explore how self-driving vehicles can deliver everyday goods to people.
The companies are using the infrastructure of Postmates—whom they both had an existing partnership with before—to quickly establish and launch a pilot program that explores how Ford’s self-driving vehicles can complement Walmart’s existing delivery offerings.
“Like Ford, Walmart believes that self-driving vehicles have an important role to play in the future of delivery, and that true success comes from first learning how individuals want to use them in their daily lives,” Ford says in a company blog post.
ZF Friedrichshafen becomes first company in Germany to fly UAS over factory premises
German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen has announced that it has become the first company in Germany to receive permission to conduct automated UAS flights over factory premises.
The company recently began using a prototype UAS to fly spare parts such as sensors or control cards from the central warehouse to workshops.
According to ZF, once it has completed test flights and the UAS are properly deployed, these flights will relieve vehicle traffic at the plant, ultimately saving time on the up to one kilometer-long delivery routes that are often on the upper floors of buildings.
Starship Technologies' autonomous delivery robots take to the streets of the UK
On Oct. 31, Starship Technologies launched what it calls the world’s first autonomous package delivery service, as hundreds of the company’s robots will be used to deliver packages straight to the front doors of consumers.
Right now, the service is available through Starship’s official app for residents living in the UK (Milton Keynes). By simply clicking a button, these residents can have packages delivered to their front door whenever they choose.
According to Starship, once people sign up on the app, they will receive a ‘personal address’ in place of their home address or whichever location they normally get parcels delivered to. This personal address will be the location of a Starship managed local facility.
Aerospace Cornwall and UAVAid to launch first UAS flight from Cornwall Airport Newquay in May 2019
Aerospace Cornwall has partnered with UK based UAS developer and operator UAVAid to launch the first UAS flight from Cornwall Airport Newquay in England during a capability event in May 2019.
During the event, UAVAid will showcase Hansard, its humanitarian UAS platform. The UAS is designed to not only “fundamentally improve the way aid agencies can respond to large scale disasters,” but also “boost healthcare and economic development in the developing world.”
Each UAS has a variety of capabilities, including long range cargo delivery, live streaming aerial video and large area mapping, in low infrastructure contexts.
Udelv to supply supermarkets in Oklahoma City with autonomous delivery vehicles
Udelv, which develops autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs), has signed a deal with Narnia Road and Esperanza Real Estate Investments to supply Oklahoma City’s (OKC) largest local chain of grocery stores with self-driving delivery vans.
According to udelv, the grocery chain is the first in the world to make such a large scale investment in ADVs.
“The partnership between udelv and Esperanza and the BFL Company of stores is a historic agreement and signals the start of ADVs making everyday life easier for Americans,” says udelv CEO, Daniel Laury.
AutoX launches self-driving grocery delivery pilot program in San Jose
On August 27, self-driving car company AutoX launched its grocery delivery Pilot program in San Jose, California.
The grocery delivery and mobile store pilot allows users to order and receive fresh produce and other goods, with AutoX’s self-driving cars making the deliveries.
The pilot will be available to customers in geo-fenced areas near AutoX’s home in San Jose, and regular expansions are expected to occur every few weeks.
To start, users will download the AutoX app, where they can browse and order items such as, but not limited to, fresh perishables, vegetables, fruits, etc. Throughout their ride over to customers, the groceries will be well-preserved in a temperature-controlled environment.
Direct Relief and partners test delivering emergency medical supplies with UAS in Puerto Rico
Last week, Direct Relief, Merck, AT&T, Softbox and Volans-I tested using UAS to deliver emergency medical supplies in Puerto Rico.
Leveraging each of their respective strengths and capabilities, the organizations tested UAS flights and the coordinated processes needed to provide medical supplies via UAS in a temperature-controlled environment with real-time monitoring.
“Post-Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico has become a hotbed of innovation in disaster relief and healthcare resiliency,” explains Andrew Schroeder, director of research and analysis at Direct Relief.
Marble's delivery robots hit the ground to map out Arlington, Texas
The first two test robots from Marble, a San Francisco-based robotics company, began mapping out the city streets and sidewalks of Arlington, Texas on Friday, August 17, according to NBC DFW.
Marble is the first company to deploy this type of technology in Arlington after the City Council gave approval for private companies to deploy robotic delivery devices to test their usage in the city back in June.
“This is our first step in interacting with the city of Arlington and we are very excited to be here,” says Marble representative Jackie Erickson.
