Automation designers have a two-fer human job killer on the drawing boards — a combo self-driving van equipped with a separate robot that can deliver customers’ order mail-order boxes right to the door. The robot hops out of the van, grabs the package and carries it to the delivery point, even managing several stairs.
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Navigating complicated steps is a problem little mentioned in these cheerful tech reports, as if America were a flat suburb designed for shopping carts. The latest creation manages a few steps well enough [2] but nothing like what millions of homes have before reaching the front door. Most people want their packages left as close to the door as possible, not left on a lower landing.
So delivery jobs for humans are safe for a few more years, but the plans are clear to eliminate expensive workers as soon as possible.
Below, the creepy headless robot called “Digit” can carry 40 pounds [3].
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has a posting for the category Delivery Truck Drivers and Driver/Sales Workers [4] that shows an average wage of $14.66/hour and the number of jobs counted in 2016 was 1,421,400. The median annual wage for light truck or delivery services drivers was $32,810 in May 2018, which seems decent for an occupation that requires only a high school education, a driver’s license and a few weeks of on-the-job training.
The tech industry aims to reduce that employer cost considerably. Of course, America won’t need any low-skilled immigrants to deliver packages in a few years when this and similar automation is deployed.
This walking robot could soon be delivering your packages [5], CNBC, May 22, 2019
● The robot known as Digit, designed and built by Agility Robotics, walks upright and can carry packages weighing up to 40 pounds.
● Ford and Agility Robotics are still researching exactly how Digit would work with the autonomous vehicles.
It’s not fast and may be years from visiting your neighborhood, but a walking robot is part of Ford’s vision for how its autonomous vehicles will someday deliver packages and goods.
The robot known as Digit and designed and built by Agility Robotics, walks upright on two legs, goes up and down stairs and can carry packages weighing 40 pounds.
So why is Ford interested in a walking robot?
Digit may be how Ford solves one of the biggest issues confronting the self-driving vehicles it’s developing for companies like Domino’s Pizza and the food delivery firm Postmates: how to get deliveries from cars to the front door?
“As we’ve learned in our pilot programs, it’s not always convenient for people to leave their homes for packages or for businesses to run their own delivery services,” Ken Washington, Ford’s chief technology officer, said in a post on Medium.
“If we can free people up to focus less on the logistics of making deliveries, they can turn their time and efforts to things that really need their attention.”
Ford envisions a future where Digit is part of an autonomous vehicle that could be delivering pizzas, packages or other items.
Designed to fold up when not deployed, Digit could be programmed to carry deliveries from the autonomous vehicle to the front door or exact location of the final destination. (Continues)