Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.85
August 07, 2021
…have been heralded as a potential solution to the last-mile challenges of delivery and transportation. But for an AV or robot to deliver a pizza, package or person to their destination, they have to be able to navigate tight spaces and unknown driver intentions. The team developed a method to model different levels of driver cooperativeness — how likely a driver was to pull over to let the other driver pass — and used those models to train an algorithm that could assist an autonomous vehicle to safely and efficiently navigate this situation. The algorithm has only been used in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.85
August 06, 2021
…service revealed Australians spent an incredible $50.5 billion online last year. As the volumes continue to grow, retailers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are competing on faster fulfilment, last mile delivery and stock visibility. A key differentiator in this highly competitive environment is the ability to make quick decisions not only cope with but also capitalise on the rising volumes. Learning from the leaders: Catch Group's transformation One of the best examples of business transformation in Australia is Catch Group, one of the nation’s largest e-commerce marketplaces. In a move that saw it shake up its supply chain strategy, the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.64
July 26, 2021
…of micro-fulfillment centers, mobile robots for indoor use, and delivery drones and robots. Legacy, brick-and-mortar retailers faced shutdowns, staffing shortages, and tightened profit margins during the pandemic, causing many to delay projects and investment in new technologies, said STIQ, which does business as Styleintelligence. At the same time, larger e-commerce players such as Ocado Group PLC and Amazon.com Inc., which had acquired Whole Foods in 2017, experienced rapid growth and sought partnerships with existing grocers. As a matter of perspective, even if e-grocery doubled in size, it grew to only 10% of total grocery revenue, according to industry analysts. As…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.61
July 21, 2021
…for their vision. Harrington: I joined in December of last year. I've learned over many years of being at high-growth companies that tremendous benefit comes from getting feedback and support from external individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives. I worked with Gabe previously when I was at Sensity Systems, which was acquired by Verizon. He understood the power of bringing together people with experience and relationships that can help accelerate the company at the stage we're at now. What stage is Optimus Ride at now? Harrington: We're accelerating on the go-to-market side of the business. We've always…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.65
July 16, 2021
…that market to rapidly expand into adjacent verticals including last-mile delivery and ride-hailing, which total $9.4 trillion annually. Aurora partners to scale commercialization Aurora Driver includes software, hardware and data services to autonomously operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks. Aurora said it has made extensive technical investments across the self-driving stack, including its long-range, multi-modal sensing suite with FirstLight Lidar, its Virtual Testing Suite, and the Aurora Atlas HD mapping system. The company has partnered with Volvo Group (including Volvo Autonomous Solutions) and PACCAR (including the Peterbilt and Kenworth brands), which together represent about 50% of the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.27
July 14, 2021
…in its stores. Walmart has also invested in drone delivery, autonomous vehicles for middle-mile and last-mile deliveries, and cleaning robots. “The digital transformation happening today, alongside evolving customer habits, is reshaping the retail industry,” said Joe Metzger, executive vice president of supply chain operations at Walmart U.S. “To serve customers now, and in the future, our business must provide the right tools and training to our associates so they can deliver the items our customers want, when they want them, with unmatched convenience. We're investing in our supply chain at an unprecedented scale in order to optimize that process end…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.40
July 12, 2021
…approaches when the aim is enabling next-day or two-day deliveries, including providers of technology-driven warehousing services, also known as “on-demand” warehousing. Micro-fulfillment and on-demand warehousing aren’t the same thing, but they do both address the need to meet consumer expectations for rapid online order fulfillment. Whether micro-fulfillment will gain much traction outside of grocery remains to be seen. In e-grocery, there are some unique order and service-level requirements. Online shoppers typically want same-day home or curbside delivery for groceries, and you may have 40 items in a customer order, which is higher than in most other retail segments. By contrast,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.62
June 24, 2021
…will help Pitney Bowes speed up parcel sortation for last-mile delivery providers on behalf of its e-commerce clients while improving operational efficiency, accuracy, and worker safety as parcel volumes continue to surge. “As we continue to scale our global e-commerce business, Pitney Bowes is on an aggressive path to seek out the most innovative technology partners in the world to co-develop new solutions that will improve our service offerings and make ecommerce logistics easier for our clients,” stated Gregg Zegras, executive vice president and president of global e-commerce at Pitney Bowes. “The AmbiSort AI-powered systems that Pitney Bowes has piloted…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.31
June 18, 2021
…did say that the investment came after successful drone deliveries of COVID-19 self-testing kits. “In our ongoing effort to get customers the items they want, and fast, we know it will take a well-coordinated network of delivery solutions that span the streets, sidewalks, and skies,” wrote John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., in a blog post. “Some of these solutions are still emerging, but they’re already showing encouraging results.” Virginia Beach, Va.-based DroneUp provides flight services, data analysis, and equipment. It also offers drone program development, regulatory consulting, and training. The company claimed it has a database of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.45
June 17, 2021
…and scale, we extended our community responsibility from contactless delivery services throughout the pandemic in California last year to fight against the new COVID-19 outbreak in Guangzhou.” Founded in 2016, Pony.ai said it is a pioneer in self-driving cars, piloting robotic taxicab services in five cities in both the U.S. and China. The Fremont-based company is currently valued at $5.3 billion, and it has collaborated with automotive OEMs including Toyota, Hyundai, and GAC Group. It recently partnered with Luminar Technologies Inc. to integrate Luminar's low-profile sensors into its fleets. Pony.ai readies fully driverless vehicles Pony.ai noted that its driverless robotaxi…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.91
June 16, 2021
…keep growing its staff. “With tens of millions of miles driven on public roads across 25 U.S. cities, and tens of billions of miles driven in simulation, our experience has shown us, and our investors, the massive opportunity ahead,” said Waymo in a blog post announcing the funding. “Our mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going, and we’re grateful to our investors for believing in this mission, in our technology, and in us.” Waymo expands services Waymo claimed that it was “the first company to operate a fully autonomous, public…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.21
June 14, 2021
…services. J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Waymo LLC last week announced a collaboration to autonomously move freight in Texas for one of J.B. Hunt’s top customers. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with J.B. Hunt as we advance and commercialize the Waymo Driver,” stated Charlie Jatt, head of commercialization for trucking at Waymo. “Our teams share an innovative and safety-first mindset as well as a deep appreciation for the potential benefits of autonomous driving technology in trucking. It’s companies and relationships like these that will make this technology a commercial reality in the coming years.” Since its start as the Google…
