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Robots may soon make your FedEx delivery from Walmart, Target and Pizza Hut
The robotic contraption rolling down the street just might be delivering a FedEx package to your home or office. That's the vision, anyway, behind the FedEx SameDay Bot that the shipping giant unveiled Wednesday. This sub-200-pound autonomous delivery robot was developed by DEKA Development & Research Corp, whose founder is Segway inventor Dean Kamen.
The SameDay Bot is so-named because its mission is to help retailers make same-day, "last mile" deliveries to local customers. FedEx is collaborating with AutoZone, Lowe's, Pizza Hut, Target, Walgreens and Walmart.
FedEx plans to test the bot this summer in select markets and FedEx Office locations, starting in the company's own Memphis hometown, pending final approval by the city. That approval would appear to be likely since it has the backing of Mayor Jim Strickland.
According to FedEx, on average, more than 60 percent of merchants' customers live within three miles of a store location, demonstrating the opportunity for on-demand, hyper-local delivery.
BTW, where's my breakfast? (Pizza in bed, please.)
Also at The Verge and Engadget.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Thursday February 28 2019, @03:33AM (8 children)
New crime: Robo-mugging. After all it's probably not complete crap in the package since they chose to hand deliver them with a fancy new robot. I get the distinct feeling that those poor bots are in for a world of hurt and abuse.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday February 28 2019, @03:49AM (6 children)
They'll either run it only in "safe" locations, or they'll use cameras to identify assailants.
Your average mugger isn't attacking somebody and being captured by a shoulder-mounted GoPro from start to finish.
Unless all on-board cameras are obliterated and are not streaming footage to a remote location, your mug is going to be caught in glorious HD, and forwarded to the police.
The bot almost certainly won't be carrying cash, so all you get from mugging it is some pizzas, car parts, or groceries, etc. If your motive is just vandalism, well, better hope you don't get caught.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday February 28 2019, @03:57AM (2 children)
Doh, easy fix: buy a robot that sprays paint towards the delivery robot while I'm mugging it. Every time a camera is looking towards my face, it gets a spray of paint on it.
Even more, I'll order the paint spraying robot using a stolen credit card and ask to be delivered by a FedEx SameDay Bot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 28 2019, @04:15AM
You could save a mint just using your mom's old pantyhose. Why reinvent the disguise?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 28 2019, @05:46AM
You could probably use a stun gun, various types of improvised EMP, pay some kids to push it over and cover it with an improvised faraday cage. Use a drone to drop water-balloons full of paint. Shoot it with a rifle from a distance. Cover your face and smash all outside surface with a bat or a crowbar until you locate and disable the power supply.
(Score: 3, Funny) by captain normal on Thursday February 28 2019, @04:09AM
Maybe there'll be a run on Guy Fawkes masks around Memphis.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 28 2019, @05:49AM (1 child)
The robot itself probably has some cool parts a maker would want to cannibalize. It would be fun to hack one into a personal robo-butler.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 28 2019, @07:33AM
Robo-butler? I ain't gonna fuck no robo-butler, dude.
If Ima gonna hack that FedEx bot for parts, you betcha ima gonna make sometin beta. 'cause fuck beta, that's why.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday February 28 2019, @12:01PM
I've seen a delivery bot happily trundle around the streets in the suburbs here, years ago, but we like tech here.
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