Vayu One Delivery Robot
Vayu Robotics today unveiled what it claims to be the world’s first curbside delivery robot in San Francisco. The company also signed an agreement with an unnamed “major e-commerce company” to purchase 2,500 of the robots to enable “ultra-fast product delivery.”
The robot, called Vayu One, looks like a miniature version of an Amazon delivery truck. Standing about waist-high and six feet long, Vayu One can pack up to 100 pounds in multiple packages of various sizes and deliver them to multiple destinations at speeds of up to 20 mph. The robot doesn’t use LiDAR for guidance, instead relying on “passive sensors” — cameras and Value’s proprietary AI mobility software — and it also responds to voice commands.
The company is touting it as the first curbside delivery robot, and company representatives say it has applied for and received permission to operate on public roads, which vary by U.S. city and state.
The Vayu solution aims to be the right-sized solution that perfectly suits your shipping needs.
Small, time-sensitive packages will likely be best served by aerial drones, such as those currently operated by Amazon, Walmart, Google, and Manna. Larger, heavier packages will likely remain the domain of car- or truck-sized delivery vehicles, typically operated by human operators, for at least several years. But mid-size packages, like groceries, mid-size electronics, and toilet paper, will require a larger solution than an aerial drone can accommodate, but won’t take up as much space as a furniture delivery truck.
Vayu sensor package with 4 cameras
To do this, we need mobile robots with considerable capability and range – robots that can safely navigate roads and sidewalks, overcome bumps and potholes, and deliver the right product to the right destination.
Vayu One achieves this by utilizing roadside locations such as bike paths and sidewalks. They don’t deliver directly to your door, but they will lift and close your parcel for you so you don’t receive the wrong item or parcel. However, this solution can be difficult in apartments or high-rises (unless you have a very understanding doorman) as you will have to leave your home to receive the delivery.
It’s interesting that Vayu One doesn’t use LiDAR, an active guidance system that uses pulsed lasers to sense the world around it in 3D — its CEO and co-founder is also the former CEO of LiDAR manufacturer Velodyne — and that AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton serves as an advisor to Vayu Robotics.
You might be wondering why the Vayu One is the world’s first street delivery robot when Starship Technologies has sidewalk and possibly road-driving robots that have already announced over 6 million automated deliveries, and we’ve seen the Nuro R2 and R3. I thought so too.
Vayu says these are for footpaths and not actually for roads.
“At Vayu, we have developed unique technology that allows us to solve problems that have plagued delivery robots for the last decade, creating a solution that can finally be deployed at scale in real life to cheaply deliver goods anywhere,” Vayu Robotics CEO Anand Gopalan said in a statement.
But the company doesn’t seem to be limited to delivery and wheeled robots.
Gopalan also said Vayu’s software technology will enable quadrupedal and bipedal robot movements, further expanding the market.