Delivery is now automated. Amazon wants to do it this way.

Amazon is testing humanoid robotics to deliver packages. These machines do not fly or throw objects; they walk upright like humans. Agility Robotics makes them. These pedal bots will be trained to deliver packages and handle the final meter, the door.

Amazon has already automated their warehouses and experimented drones. Now, they are experimenting with ground-based robots. This robot, unlike Prime Air and Scout, doesn’t simply move, it also acts and moves as if it were a human. This subtle difference is important; it shows how far Amazon and Society will go to create an environment where human presence can be combined with a strangely familiar looking robot. 

Warehouse robots to walking robots 

Amazon has automated its logistics for over a decade. Amazon’s new test in San Francisco is an important shift, as it experiments with DigitAgility Robotics has created a humanoid-robot to simulate real-world deliveries.

These botwalks are different from their previous spots, which rolled along walks or flew above them. They walk on two feet. It’s designed to perform basic tasks like carrying packages and walking up stairs. These are simple for humans, but are difficult for machines.

Amazon’s idea doesn’t yet replace delivery vans; it is rather testing whether robots are able to step out with a two person delivery team, where one person drops off and returns the parcel.

It is based upon earlier automation efforts using Kiva robots and Amazon Scout, which were cooler, on-wheeled sidewalk robots. This drone project is currently undergoing a limited test.

Digit doesn’t move faster or more flashily, but is made to mimic our movements. Once technology begins to reflect form, it can feel more like a substitute than a tool.

The threshold for automation 

The majority of automation takes place out of sight in warehouses, across fulfillment centres and on systems that you’ve never met. The majority of the automation is done in the background, but it’s different. It will be delivered to you at home, where it will interact with the space, attention and routine of your household.

Amazon’s robot tests are important because they go into visible share territory. The robot’s replacement of that moment is not simply a logistical shift; it’s a more cultural psychological one.

A transaction that is made through an exchange, where a computer imitates the human form without offering any of its features. The real test starts here.

What’s next?

Amazon’s robotics is currently in the testing stage. It is walking through a closed humanoid San Francisco park, and not on the streets. We can still understand that the automation is evolving in a way to be more like us, so it can perform tasks the same as we do, and in the same place. It depends on how you view this future.

Amazon and other companies use it to reduce costs, relieve the pressure on human drivers, and to remain competitive in the race of last-mile delivery.

In terms of society, this might mean different questions such as: what is the value in presence during daily interaction and how much are we willing automate of our public lives? It’s not just about delivering, but also about the texture of daily life and what or who we allow into it.