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There was a startup in Berkeley called Kiwibots pretty much did the same thing. The concept seemed promising at first glance, yet I always thought they were too

There was a startup in Berkeley called Kiwibots pretty much did the same thing. The concept seemed promising at first glance, yet I always thought they were too small. I feel like if they made them cooler sized, and had them go on routes like an ice cream truck it would prove to be a better business model than a bunch of tiny robots going to an fro to deliver a bag of chips.

Jasper_ 6y ago
They faked the bots. https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Kiwibots-win-fans-at-UC-Berkeley-as-they-deliver-13895867.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Kiwibots-win-fa... > The Kiwibots do not figure out their own routes. Instead, people in Colombia, the home country of Chavez and his two co-founders, plot “waypoints” for the bots to follow, sending them instructions every five to 10 seconds on where to go. > On the ground in Berkeley, people also do a lot of robot support. Traveling at 1 to 1½ mph, the bots would take too long to chug to local restaurants, so Kiwi workers pick up the food at restaurants and take it via bikes or scooters to meeting spots around campus to insert into an insulated bag in the bots’ storage compartment. > The average distance a robot covers for a delivery is about 200 meters (656 feet, or one-eighth of a mile) which makes them fall short of a “last-mile” solution. This isn't real robot automation. It's just trying to shove the human worker out of sight, down the end of the road.
deleted 6y ago
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av_engr 6y ago
Kiwibot isn't exactly that. Their vehicles are basically modified Traxxas RC cars and their "autonomy" is offshoring remote control work to Columbian workers for situation that the robot can't react to. Unlike Mars Rover that are designed to handle very rough and unexpected terrain, those Traxxas RC probably do not have that stability over obstacles that a mars rover have.

Jasper_ 6y ago

They faked the bots. https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Kiwibots-win-fans-at-UC-Berkeley-as-they-deliver-13895867.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Kiwibots-win-fa... > The Kiwibots do not figure out their own routes. Instead, people in Colombia, the home country of Chavez and his two co-founders, plot “waypoints” for the bots to follow, sending them instructions every five to 10 seconds on where to go. > On the ground in Berkeley, people also do a lot of robot support. Traveling at 1 to 1½ mph, the bots would take too long to chug to local restaurants, so Kiwi workers pick up the food at restaurants and take it via bikes or scooters to meeting spots around campus to insert into an insulated bag in the bots’ storage compartment. > The average distance a robot covers for a delivery is about 200 meters (656 feet, or one-eighth of a mile) which makes them fall short of a “last-mile” solution. This isn't real robot automation. It's just trying to shove the human worker out of sight, down the end of the road.

deleted 6y ago

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av_engr 6y ago

Kiwibot isn't exactly that. Their vehicles are basically modified Traxxas RC cars and their "autonomy" is offshoring remote control work to Columbian workers for situation that the robot can't react to. Unlike Mars Rover that are designed to handle very rough and unexpected terrain, those Traxxas RC probably do not have that stability over obstacles that a mars rover have.