Citizens of San Francisco may soon see postman robots outside their home doors.
Delivery services for purchases and food have represented an excellent test bed in recent months, and now "proximity robotics" seems ready for its massive use in cities all over the world, and for the most disparate civil and commercial uses.
Postmates introduced Serve, a plan to use robots, in December and showcased its vision of deliveries to homes and offices.
What is the mechanism?
The robot postman system designed by Postmates is nothing different than that already tested also by Domino's Pizza. You book and monitor the delivery with a special app. When the robot arrives, you unlock the cargo compartment with a code on your mobile phone, and collect the mail or package.
The load capacity of the robot postman is approximately 25kg, with a range of approximately 45 kilometers per charge.
Those who arrive late are better off
This isn't the first time San Francisco has seen robots walking its streets. A few years ago the city on the Pacific was already a test platform for several companies. After a more restrictive period (the use of such services was subject to a severe filter by the administration) today Postmates is the first company officially authorized by the administration to have robotic fleets travel its streets.
As a company spokesperson said: “We are planning to work directly with city administrations to find together an approach to the use of robots. It is necessary to respect the road code, civil coexistence and all the disciplinary rules that will be established".
