Robot deliveries

Article summary

The Economist writes that some people may not be aware of them yet, but sidewalk robots are already delivering groceries in the US, China and Europe - a step which other autonomous vehicles are yet to take. The article suggests that autonomous cars and trucks are being held back by safety regulation, with regulators insisting on safety drivers in the event that something goes wrong and the vehicle needs to be taken under control. In the meantime, firms such as Starship Technologies believe its bots have made 2.5m deliveries and Amazon is testing its own robots. These machines can carry a few bags of groceries and are tracked by a phone app, which then unlocks the bot on arrival. With a top speed of 6kph they move quite slowly and so are able to pass more easily under the radar of regulators. There are also robots that operate on roads, these are bigger in nature and can carry 24 bags of groceries but don’t have space for a driver. The Economist believes that autonomous robots may help to pave the way through the regulators for other types of autonomous vehicles.

What I thought

The article was interesting for two reasons. First, the arrival of autonomous delivery solutions will mark a paradigm shift in the business models of grocery and takeaway delivery companies such as DoorDash, UberEats and Gorillas amongst others. For now these firms are fairly labour intensive, with a reliance on gig labour markets and increasing pressure to offer further benefits to drivers. Robots turn the tables on this and would help to propel the industry towards profitability. The second interesting aspect is just how advanced the technology is. Even to this day autonomous vehicles seem like something out of a sci-fi film. Yet technology is not the cause of a lack of market penetration, rather it is regulators who are putting the breaks on. Perhaps this is necessary in order to avert tragic accidents. But it is a wonder, with road accidents accounting for nearly 4.5 million injuries a year, just how much more dangerous autonomous vehicles can be?