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If we go by definition, a robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. It can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be constructed to evoke human form, but most robots are task-performing machines, designed with an emphasis on stark functionality, rather than expressive aesthetics.
“In 30 years, a robot will likely be on the cover of time magazine as the best CEO. Machines will do what human beings are incapable of doing. Machines will partner and cooperate with humans, rather than become mankind’s biggest enemy.” – Jack Ma
Delivery Bots (Robots)
A delivery bot is an autonomous robot that provides delivery services. An operator may monitor and take control of the robot remotely in certain situations that the robot cannot resolve by itself such as when it is stuck in an obstacle. Delivery robots can be used in different settings such as food delivery, package delivery, hospital delivery, and room service.
On August 3, 2016, Domino’s Pizza introduced the Domino’s Robotic Unit or DRU for short. The first home delivery pizza robot. Domino’s Australia has turned a military robot into a pizza delivery droid. The four-wheeled robotic unit travels up to speeds of 20km/h and is designed to cruise on footpaths, trails, and bike paths.
When it reaches its destination, the customer enters a security code in their phone to tell the robot to open its locked storage compartment and deliver the pizza. LIDAR and GPS sensors help it navigate, while temperature sensors keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Already, it’s been rolled out in ten countries, including New Zealand, France, and Germany, but it’s August 2016 debut was critical—as it was the first time we’d seen robotic home delivery.
It won’t be the last. A dozen or so different delivery bots are currently entering the market. Starship Technologies, for example, a startup created by Skype founders, has a general-purpose home delivery robot. Right now, the system is an array of cameras and GPS sensors, but soon models will include microphones, speakers, and the ability—via AI-driven natural language processing—to communicate with customers. Since 2016, Starship has carried out fifty thousand deliveries in over one hundred cities in twenty countries.
Along similar lines, Nuro, the company co-founded by Jiajun Zhu, one of the engineers who helped Google develop their self-driving car, has a miniature self-driving car of their own. Half the size of a sedan, the Nuro looks like a toaster on wheels, except with a mission. This toaster has been designed to carry cargo—about twelve bags of groceries (version 2.0 will carry twenty)—which it’s been doing for select Kroger stores since 2018. In 2019, Domino’s also partnered with Nuro.
As these delivery bots take over our streets, others are streaking across the sky. Back in 2016, Amazon was first, announcing Prime Air, their promise of drone delivery in thirty minutes or less. Almost immediately, companies ranging from 7-Eleven and Walmart to Google and Alibaba jumped on the bandwagon. While critics remain doubtful, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s drone-integration department recently said that drone deliveries may be “a lot closer than… the skeptics think. [Companies are] getting ready for full-blown operations. We’re processing their applications. I would like to move as quickly as I can.”
While delivery bots are starting to spare us that trip to the store, for those who prefer shopping the old-fashioned way—i.e., in-person—once you actually arrive at that store, robots will be there to help. Actually, they’ve been there for a while.
Humanoid Robot
In 2010, SoftBank introduced Pepper, a humanoid robot capable of understanding human emotion. Pepper’s cute: four feet tall, with a white plastic body, two black eyes, a dark slash of a mouth, and a base shaped like a mermaid’s tail. Across her chest is a touch screen to aid in communication. There’s been a lot of communication. Pepper’s cuteness is intentional, as it matches its mission: help humans enjoy life as much as possible. Over twelve thousand Peppers have been sold. She serves ice cream in Japan, greets eaters at a Pizza Hut in Singapore, and dances with customers at a Palo Alto electronics store.
Walmart uses shelf-stocking robots for inventory control, Best Buy uses a robo-cashier to allow select locations to operate 24-7, and Lowe’s Home Improvement employs the LoweBot—a giant iPad on wheels—to help customers find the items they need while tracking inventory along the way.
Robot in Warehouse
The biggest benefit robotics provides might be in warehouse logistics. In 2012, when Amazon dished out $775 million for Kiva Systems, few could predict that just six years later there would be forty-five thousand Kiva robots deployed at all of their fulfillment centers, helping process a ridiculous 306 items per second during the Christmas season. Kiva Systems solutions that are advertised as helping reduce shipping times from two to three days down to one. A “large warehouse operation” from the company with 1,000 robots can cost anywhere from $15 to $20 million to deploy.
Order jeans from the Gap and soon they’ll be sorted, packed, and shipped with the help of a Kindred robot. Remember the old arcade game where you picked up teddy bears with a giant claw? That’s Kindred, only her claw picks up T-shirts, pants, and the like, placing them in designated drop-off zones that resemble tiny mailboxes (for further sorting or shipping). The big deal here is democratization. Kindred’s robot is cheap and easy to deploy, allowing smaller companies to compete with giants like Amazon.
For retailers interested in staying in business, there doesn’t appear to be much choice in the matter. As human labor costs continue to climb, robots won’t just be coming, they’ll be here, there, and everywhere. It’s going to become increasingly difficult for store owners to justify human workers who call in sick, show up late, and can easily get injured. Robots work 24-7. They never take a day off, never need a bathroom break, health insurance, or family leave. Going forward, this means technological unemployment will become more of an issue—but in retail, the robotic benefits for both companies and customers are considerable.
(Inspired from ‘The Future Is Faster Than You Think’ by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler)
