Boston Dynamics tests Spot robot for doorstep deliveries
The company is trying a conveyor add-on that lets Spot carry packages from a vehicle and unload them at a customer’s door.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Boston Dynamics is testing whether its four-legged Spot robot can help with package deliveries. The company says a new conveyor-belt attachment could let the robot move parcels from a delivery vehicle to a customer’s doorstep, cutting some of the physical work for drivers.
Boston Dynamics described the test in a company blog post. The system is designed to let Spot carry packages away from a vehicle and unload them on its own at the delivery point.
The idea targets a stubborn part of home delivery: the last stretch between a truck and a front door. According to The Verge, companies have tried to speed that step with wheeled delivery robots and drones, but stairs and cluttered walkways still make people hard to beat for getting packages to porches.
Spot’s legged design gives Boston Dynamics a different way to approach that problem. The robot is already used for routine factory inspections, according to the company, and Smithsonian Magazine has reported on its use patrolling the ruins of Pompeii.
The delivery test does not mean robot dogs are about to replace drivers. Boston Dynamics is presenting the accessory as a way to reduce a driver’s workload, rather than as a full delivery system.
The company has not said in the available announcement when, or if, the conveyor-equipped Spot will be used in commercial delivery operations.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.