Amazon Could Soon Deploy Ground-Based Delivery Robots

­Amazon Prime Air might’ve run into a figurative buzzsaw of red tape and political controversy, but that doesn’t mean the e-retailer has given up on replacing human drivers automating their delivery services – especially with the latest reports indicating that Amazon may soon deploy ground-based delivery robots.     

Amazon has been exploring automated solutions for quite a while. They’ve been delving into warehouse automation since at least 2012, and a year after that, Jeff Bezos broached the subject of a drone delivery service, aka Amazon Prime Air.

Unfortunately, the latter ran into a number of roadblocks, including FAA regulations, privacy concerns, and the high cost per delivery.

Even with the drones flying lower than 400 feet, consumers worried about the dangers of objects (potentially) crashing in populated areas, and of course, cost factors. In 2022, the cost per drone delivery – as part of their trials – was apparently $484, though they’ve since come down a bit.

And according to The Information, Amazon is experimenting with humanoid robot delivery “personnel”. Though apparently, these robots wouldn’t replace human drivers, but merely assist them.

As explained by Tech Radar, “The robots would sit silently in the back, and when it's time for package delivery, they'd find the box, open the door, and carefully make their way to your home.”

So basically, it’d be a collaborative effort in the same way many warehouse activities are.

Amazon has been tinkering with the idea in a “humanoid park” that simulates all the obstacles they might encounter, and they could reportedly rely on Agility Robotics' Digit to perform the actual deliveries.