Robot couriers were treated humanely – Kommersant FM

Robot couriers were treated humanely – Kommersant FM

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Russians began to massively help robot couriers who get stuck in snowdrifts. Dozens of videos are published on social networks in which Yandex delivery workers cannot get out of the snow: their wheels are blocked and they are unable to deliver the order. Against this background, the company has released instructions on how to help the technology. How effective is this delivery method? And will robots replace ordinary couriers? Vladislav Viktorov will tell you.

One of the cases when the Russians showed concern occurred on November 27, the day before a so-called black blizzard took place in Moscow, due to which robots began to get stuck in deep snowdrifts. Three Russians walking along Zubovsky Boulevard stopped and began pushing the courier until he continued moving.

Yandex learned about this problem and even issued instructions asking them to help delivery robots. It explains that the artificial courier gets stuck in viscous snowdrifts and in this case gives a sound signal: the device must be moved forward a little, and after about a minute the wheels will unlock on their own.

Robot Rescuer:

The robot courier was stuck, they said that it was better not to help him, but I would help. Come on, brother, go. That’s it, let’s go! He saw a pedestrian crossing! Good boy. That’s it, the handsome guy left.

As Yandex told Kommersant FM, the company now has 130 delivery robots, 50 of which were released to work in October. The courier has all-wheel drive: all six wheels are driven. The robot can overcome curbs up to 10 centimeters high, but is not able to climb steps, so the customer is recommended to meet it at the entrance.

Otherwise, such delivery is not much different from the standard one: the courier picks up the parcel at the point of delivery, and the buyer is sent a tracking track and a PIN code that will allow him to open the robot. Therefore, another person will not be able to open the device and pick up the paid order. Experts are surprised by this attitude towards couriers, notes the head of Alpha Robotics Venture Vladimir Bely:

“It is precisely because our people help robots that there will be no uprising of machines, at least in Russia. In America, the same robots, for example, are very much exploited by various marginal characters, such as homeless people and drug addicts. They open these robots, take someone else’s package, and ride them. Cyber ​​vandalism pure and simple.”

In 2021, other market players also began to hire Yandex robots. Russian Post became interested in the technology. Over two years, couriers delivered almost 18 thousand parcels, in an average of 40 minutes each. Nevertheless, such a delivery method will remain experimental, says Alexander Thomas, press secretary of Yandex Unmanned Technologies:

“In Russia, delivery robots are not a replacement for humans, but help. According to various studies, there is an acute shortage of drivers, couriers, and engineers, that is, there is a shortage of personnel in almost all industries. And inevitably, more and more robots will appear, but they will not replace anyone. In the foreseeable future for sure.”

Experts estimate the cost of such a robot at approximately 500 thousand rubles. But sometimes its price can reach up to 1 million rubles. depending on the configuration. As Kommersant FM’s interlocutors note, it was profitable to “hire” electronic employees during the pandemic: after all, they do not need insurance or registration. Now it is cheaper to resort to the standard delivery method and send the order with a human courier.


Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.

Maria Shirokova

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