Moscow Is Teaching Delivery Robots to Use Elevators
The new technology builds on capabilities already used by autonomous cleaning robots.
Moscow authorities, working with engineers from private technology companies, are developing a new generation of autonomous delivery robots. The goal is to enable the robots to use elevators so they can deliver orders directly to customers' apartment doors.
Engineers are equipping the delivery robots with new cameras, sensors, and navigation algorithms that improve their ability to move through indoor spaces. Similar technology is already used in autonomous cleaning robots, which ride elevators to reach different floors and clean shared areas of residential buildings according to preprogrammed routes.
“Safety is our top priority. We will not integrate any elevators into this system until we are fully confident that the technology is safe. Looking ahead, however, similar capabilities could become part of autonomous delivery services,” said Maksim Liksutov, Moscow's Deputy Mayor for Transport and Industry.
