RIVR, the Swiss company that makes a nimble, wheeled robot dog, has now advanced to commercial trials. When we looked in on them earlier this year, they’d configured the ‘bot to carry a crate under its belly:
Now they’ve modified the design to put the payload up top, the easier for humans to access them. The company has partnered with two organizations, Swiss Post and Just Eat Takeaway, to deliver mail and meals in Zurich.
Under the Swiss Post arrangement, the dogbots ride around in an autonomous vehicle. They hop out at each stop and ferry letters and packages to doorsteps, all without human intervention:
It’s kind of funny how they poop the packages out:
“The system runs 24/7, delivering on demand, regardless of time or weather,” the company writes. “No more waiting for scheduled drop-offs. No more delivery windows. Just fast, smart, and seamless service — powered by machines that adapt to the real world in real time.”
The food delivery application, meanwhile, shows why it makes sense to have the payload at human height:
The company has announced plans to expand to other European cities, and also have their eye on retail and convenience store customers.