FedEx autonomous delivery robot travels on sidewalks, roadsides, climbs stairs
Robots may soon deliver your packages from major retailers like Target, Walgreens and Walmart, FedEx Executive Vice President Brie Carere told FOX Business on Wednesday.
The courier delivery services company has developed an autonomous device, dubbed the FedEx SameDay Bot, that is designed to help retailers make same-day and last-mile deliveries right to their customers' doors.
“This is a new category device,” Carere said during an interview on “Mornings with Maria." “It’s going to be able to go along your sidewalk or traverse on a bike lane. It can go up curbs. It can go on paved and unpaved surfaces and it can even climb stairs — it’s incredible.”
The bot is being developed alongside iBot inventor DEKA Development & Research Corp., and includes safety features, screens, cameras and the ability to communicate with pedestrians or bystanders around it.
“Our FedEx SameDay Bot has 10 million hours of reliable real-world operations already,” said Carere. “We think it’s the best technology in America today.”
FedEx plans to test the “environmentally friendly” bot this summer in select markets, including Memphis, Tennessee, pending regulatory approval.
“From an environmental perspective this is so much more efficient,” Carere said. “Imagine a two-ton vehicle delivering a pizza — that is not good for everyone. This is far more efficient and we think municipalities are going to be very excited and our early conversations have indicated that.”
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Pricing has not been established yet, according to Carere.