Three Fronts in Robotics
The Samara Region is advancing three flagship technologies at once: agricultural drones in the fields, delivery robots on city streets, and industrial robotics in factories.
Agricultural drones are the most mature of the three. According to the regional government, 102 drones treated 292,000 hectares of farmland in 2026, up from 22,000 hectares in 2024 and 167,600 hectares in 2025. Over two years, the area covered grew roughly 13-fold. One factor driving adoption is that drones can operate when heavy machinery cannot cross fields because the soil is waterlogged. The region’s own certified S-80 agricultural drone, which has been manufactured there since 2025, has also helped expand coverage. Farmers can receive subsidies covering up to 40% of the cost of purchasing unmanned systems and precision agriculture equipment.
By contrast, robot-based urban delivery is still in the preparation phase. Since October 6, 2026, the Samara Region has been participating in a three-year experimental legal regime established by Russian Government Resolution No. 1247 and covering 34 regions. The project is being implemented by Robodostavka (Robot Delivery), a Yandex subsidiary. The company plans to deploy up to 80 rovers on city streets by the end of the year, after evaluating eight urban zones covering a total area of approximately 31 square kilometers.
Industrial robotics, meanwhile, builds on the region’s strong manufacturing base. According to Rostec, more than 1,600 industrial robots are operating at AVTOVAZ in 2026, including robots that handle hot metal workpieces. The Tesvel Industrial Robotics Development Center has also opened. It has been operating at the Preobrazhenka Industrial Park since February 25, 2026, developing solutions for welding, assembly, and warehouse logistics under the national Production and Automation Equipment project.
Growth Opportunities
For Samara, the biggest opportunity is to test whether autonomous delivery can work as a viable business model. According to Yandex, its fleet had grown to more than 1,500 robots by the end of October 2026. They operate in 13 cities and fulfill orders from more than 170 dark stores. Yandex is preparing to launch services in Yekaterinburg and Voronezh as well.
Agriculture has room to grow through precision farming technologies, including aerial image analysis, early detection of crop disease, targeted application of agrochemicals, and digital field mapping. Software is particularly valuable to the IT market in this area: companies can sell farmers not just drones, but complete digital services built around them.
Agricultural drones and industrial robotic systems have the clearest export potential. Potential markets include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
The Road to Success
The progress now taking shape in Samara has taken several years. In 2022, Russian Post was already testing Yandex rovers in Murino and Innopolis. Then, in December 2023, the first phase of the Transport budushchego (Transport of the Future) plant opened in Tolyatti to manufacture civilian drones, backed by an investment of approximately 7 billion rubles (about $85 million).
The pace picked up in 2025 and 2026, with the S-80 agricultural drone entering serial production, more farmland being treated by drones, and Yandex launching robotic delivery in Kazan using fourth-generation rovers. The trend is also playing out internationally. In Shenzhen, China, Meituan robots deliver food at the airport. Meanwhile, Starship Technologies remains the global leader, reporting 10 million autonomous deliveries across eight countries.
What Will the Experiment Prove?
What sets the Samara Region apart is not that any one of these technologies is unique, but that all three are being developed in parallel within a single region. Samara is emerging as an important center for real-world robotics deployment, although each field is at a different stage of maturity.
Agriculture has already delivered convincing results, but a full assessment will require data on cost savings for farms and the impact on crop yields. Urban delivery remains a promising experiment: its success will depend on the actual number of deliveries, cost per delivery, rover reliability, and winter operating safety. Industrial robotics could become a long-term growth driver. Major customers such as AVTOVAZ, combined with the work of the Tesvel center, are creating favorable conditions for Russian systems integrators and software developers to expand.
If the experiments demonstrate that these technologies are economically viable, Samara’s experience could serve as a model for other regions, showing how to develop autonomous systems, put them to practical use, and train the workforce needed to support them at the same time.
