Amazon Builds Scout Delivery Robots Entirely In-House for Sidewalk Deliveries
Amazon's new Scout sidewalk robots currently navigate Washington State neighborhoods with human assistants. The company designs and builds the entire robot in-house to maintain strict control over the technology.
Amazon introduces its Scout sidewalk delivery robot as a new addition to its massive delivery network, aiming to provide a safe and sustainable solution for last-mile logistics. Currently, the company tests these small blue robots in a single Washington State neighborhood, where they travel moderate distances from a central van to drop off packages.
Human assistants accompany every Scout robot during these trials, acting much like robot dog walkers to ensure smooth operations. These assistants physically remove the packages from the robot and place them on the customer's doorstep, meaning recipients do not need to be home during this initial testing phase.
To maintain strict quality control and speed up development, Amazon designs, builds, and programs the Scout robots entirely in-house. By owning everything from industrial design to software and manufacturing, the company iterates quickly and creates custom testing rigs to perfect the robot's hardware for real-world sidewalk navigation.