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Self-driving robots have started delivering parcels in certain Moscow neighborhoods after tech giant Yandex NV teamed up with the state-run Russian Post, the companies said yesterday.
Yandex, which operates a raft of services from online search to ride-hailing, has used robots for food delivery in Russia and on some US college campuses in a partnership with GrubHub, but a partnership with the Russian postal service could widen their reach.
Yandex and Russian Post said in a statement that 36 rectangular, suitcase-sized robots would initially deliver from 27 post offices in several districts of the Russian capital as part of a pilot project, with parcel recipients able to select robot delivery using an app.
Photo: Reuters
Users can track the six-wheeled robots as they trundle across town and can access their parcel using a unique verification code.
“Every part of the logistics chain can be automated, and technologies are changing processes at every stage: from the first to the last mile,” Russian Post innovation head Stanislav Chernin said.
Russian Post has more than 38,000 branches across the world’s largest country and handles nearly 109 million parcels each year. The use of robots or drones could be a cost-effective way to offer services in remote or sparsely populated areas.
Britain’s Royal Mail PLC has used a drone to deliver to a Scottish isle, while Japan Post Holdings Co is testing the use of drones and expects them to start delivering mail and packages in 2023.
Separately, Softbank Group Corp is in talks to sell the Paris-based robotics business behind its Pepper android to Germany’s United Robotics Group, according to sources and documents reviewed by Reuters, scaling back a business it once touted as a growth driver.
The talks are ongoing and plans could change, said two sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be named as they are not permitted to speak to the media.
It is not clear how much the deal would be worth.
United Robotics Group, which is backed by German industrial robot maker Hahn, became the European master distributor for Softbank’s struggling Pepper and Nao robots in October last year.
United Robotics declined to comment, while Softbank has said that it remains committed to the Pepper business.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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