During the trial, a RIVR employee will accompany the robot to ensure safety and delivery quality, while Veho and RIVR team members monitor the robot to learn how it performs during real-life deliveries.
Veho and RIVR have announced a US-based initiative that aims to improve the ecommerce delivery experience and efficiency through the use of parcel robots. The deployment has started in Austin, with plans to expand to additional markets later this year based on learnings during the initial trial.
The robots are not intended to replace human delivery drivers. But rather enable humans to deliver more parcels faster and with less physical strain. The ability for humans to work with and manage robots performing deliveries may be particularly valuable in dense areas with many deliveries but limited parking, it is claimed.
While a human driver completes one drop off, the wheeled-legged robot will deliver another, navigating from the delivery vehicle all the way to the customer’s doorstep, placing parcels according to the customer’s instructions, while leveraging the Veho app to send a photo of each successful delivery.
During the trial, a RIVR employee will accompany the robot to ensure safety and delivery quality, while Veho and RIVR team members monitor the robot to learn how it performs during real-life deliveries.
“Over nine years, Veho has proven that a delivery platform and technology built for ecommerce produces better delivery experiences and economics for consumers and brands. This partnership is an exciting next step in reinventing ecommerce delivery and enabling brands to turn shipping from a cost centre to a value driver,” said Itamar Zur, Co-Founder and CEO of Veho.
“When it comes to delivery, customers care most about its reliability, speed and cost. This partnership will help us learn if a robot working with a human can help reduce delivery costs while improving on-time-delivery and speed, all while maintaining a great delivery and brand experience.”
Veho’s platform enables drivers to deliver millions of packages per month across 50 US metropolitan areas, most recently launching in New York City. The technology powering Veho’s network of over 30 distribution centres across the US and its app-based platform for 84,000 independent driver partners was built entirely in-house.
“With the exponential rise in ecommerce delivery, the last mile has become the most critical – and complex – link in the logistics chain. Our mission is to put one million delivery robots into the field, leveraging general physical AI to scale urban robotics to where it’s needed most,” said Marko Bjelonic, CEO at RIVR.
“Our partnership with Veho is a major milestone on that journey to bring our technology to the US. As a leading parcel delivery platform in the US, Veho offers the ideal environment for deploying at scale, helping us deliver not just faster and more cost-effective service, but a smarter, more human-centred model for robotics in logistics.”
ALSO READ: PropellerAds Reveals Social Traffic Targeting for Increased Conversion Rates