Volvo’s self-driving garbage truck

As autonomous robots and drones gain ground in solving the last mile delivery problem, they’ll be delivering more and more packages – resulting in more and more material for recycling… …

Meet Kar-go – the automated delivery pod

Led by British entrepreneur William Sachiti, Guildford, UK-based startup, The Academy of Robotics, has gained permission from the UK government to test out a prototype of its Kar-Go ‘last mile delivery’ …

Dubai drone taxi: video update

I wouldn’t usually revisit an ‘old’ story, but I’ve just found the video that should have accompanied my ‘Drone taxi, anyone?‘ story from 1 March this year… In March, I …

Meet Lilium, the VTOL taxi!

OK, so it’s not a drone or a robot – and that’s what I usually talk about – but it’s a flying taxi which takes off and lands vertically, and …

Meet T-Pod – the driverless truck

Swedish company Einride has announced what it calls ‘a new transportation system’ featuring futuristic-looking vehicles called T-pods. On its website, Einride says: “This is not a company, it’s a movement. We …

Meet Pouncer, the edible drone

If government backing can be found, a Yeovil, UK-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer called Windhorse Aerospace will build drones that can deliver food, water and medical supplies into hostile, …

Meet Sedric – Volkswagen’s driverless car

German car manufacturer Volkswagen Group unveiled its first autonomous car concept, Sedric (SElf-DRIving Car), at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. The capsule-like vehicle builds on new electric technologies, which the …

Virginia legalises delivery robots

In the United States, Virginia state governor Terry McAuliffe has signed a ruling allowing delivery robots to use public pavements from 1st July 2017. While pilot programmes are underway in …

Drone taxi, anyone?

I was in Dubai last week for the annual Gulfood event – and also presenting the Gulfood Innovation Awards – and the media was filled with news that in July, …

Could driverless cars cut delays?

In the UK, a Department for Transport study has shown that driverless cars could significantly reduce delays. The research project used computer software to create virtual models of different parts …

Meet ‘AnBot’ the airport security droid

‘AnBot’ has begun 24-hour patrols at the Shenzhen International Airport in Guangdong, China. It can use a taser, remotely activated by a policeman watching through the robot’s eyes The airport …

The Flying Burrito Brothers: for real!

Project Wing, a unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has cooperated with fast food business Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc and Blacksburg University, Virginia, with an experimental burritos delivery service on …

Meet EMIEW3 – Hitachi’s airport robot

Hitachi has started trials of its EMIEW3 humanoid robot at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in Japan. The 90 centimetre-tall robot communicates with passengers in Japanese and English and has autonomous capabilities …

Meet K3 from Knightscope – the new indoor RoboCop

Silicon Valley, US-based advanced physical security technologies developer Knightscope has introduced Knightscope K3, designed for indoor applications. “It is imperative that we finally give chief security officers a highly capable, …

Meet a pizza delivery droid called ‘DRU’

In Australia, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (Domino’s) has unveiled the world’s first autonomous pizza delivery vehicle! The autonomous robotic platform inside the custom body was supplied by Sydney, Australia-based Marathon Targets. …

Meet HOSPI – the autonomous medical robot

Panasonic System Solutions Asia Pacific (PSSAP) and Changi General Hospital (CGH) are implementing assistive robotics technology to improve operational efficiency of a hospital in Singapore. Experimental use of the Panasonic …