This year’s CES has made history, from scandals like barring access to robotic sex paraphernalia that sparked sexism claims to smart toilets that come with a surround sound system. However, there was one robotic product that especially caught our attention – robot dogs.
But didn’t we have them for a while now? Yes, we do have robotic pets, but this is an entirely different kind of robotic dog. German automotive company Continental partnered with the robotics company ANYbotics to create a quadrupedal delivery robot that would solve the age-old problem of last mile delivery. This means getting the package from the delivery truck to your door. The delivery robot is called ANYmal, and it could be just what the business of goods delivery needed.
How do these robot dogs work exactly?
The four-legged robot ANYmal is designed to basically jump out from a self-driving delivery truck and carry packages right up to your door. The driverless truck would come in the form of Continental’s other revolutionary project, the CUbE autonomous shuttle.
The demonstration at the CES 2019 has shown one of these robots slowly navigating over obstacles in a garden toward a door. The robot was even able to ring the doorbell and slide the package on the porch.
Their ultimate goal? Seamless mobility in a smart city. Continental hopes to utilize the available transport capacity and minimize idle times with the combination of ANYmal and the CUbE autonomous shuttles.
For now, this product is still just a demo. That said, Continental recognizes the huge potential of delivering goods in urban areas. The company considers the automation of goods delivery an integral part of future urban mobility and smart cities of the future.
In short, we’re certain they will continue working hard on making their vision true. This means we definitely haven’t seen the last of this quadrupedal robot wonder.
YouTube: Last-Meter Robotic Package Delivery with ANYmal (CES 2019, ANYbotics & Continental)
Photo credits: All images used are owned by Continental and ANYbotics and were provided for press usage.
Source: Continental / ANYbotics / BBC / Daphne Leprince-Ringuet (Wired UK)
