Last mile delivery refers to the delivery of a product from the warehouse to the customer’s doorstep. Although the standard in today’s delivery model is to have humans handle last mile delivery, it can be inefficient and costly as it costs the same as the rest of the delivery process combined.
This is resulting in the use of robots for last mile delivery seeing a rise in the U.S., Asia and Europe; and Amazon, FedEx and UPS are investing into delivery robots to aid with last mile delivery. The global delivery robot market was valued at $3.53 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $30.05 billion by 2030.
Wanting to create a joint offering for the booming last mile delivery robots market, Segway-Ninebot and DriveU.auto announced the DriveU.auto remote operation platform will be integrated into Segway's robot platform, Segway Robotics.
Segway-Ninebot is an enterprise in the fields of intelligent short-distance transportation and service robots, and DriveU.auto is a developer of a software-based connectivity platform for robots and autonomous vehicle teleoperation.
"We see delivery robots as a massive growth opportunity for Segway Robotics," said Tony Ho, vice president of Segway Robotics. "We are happy to join forces with DriveU.auto, creating a compelling joint offering of the market's 'best of breed' robotic platform and remote operations in a single fully integrated package to enable rapid deployment by last mile delivery companies around the globe.
The robot, electrically powered and slower moving, can be fully autonomous, semi-autonomous or remotely driven by a human operator, and will be ideal for rapid, cost-efficient, safe and green deliveries within dense urban areas.
Remote operations rely on public cellular networks to transmit the communication between the moving robot and the remote operator. Because cellular networks can be unstable, consistent high quality video connectivity with low latency is required. The DriveU.auto connectivity platform will provide the high quality, low latency connectivity required for safe teleoperation.
DriveU.auto's software-based connectivity platform, in commercial use on sidewalks in the U.S., supports cloud and hybrid architecture, which will allow the support of large-scale robot deployments.
"Partnering with Segway Robotics is an important milestone for DriveU.auto as we continue our expansion into the delivery robot space," said Alon Podhurst, CEO of DriveU.auto. "Segway Robotics and DriveU.auto's joint offering is a compelling integrated product for last mile delivery companies who wish to rapidly deploy services."
The companies' joint offering is in advanced deployment stages with customers in the last mile delivery space.