Most delivery automations stop at the stand. But for the starting of the Veho-based robotics and the Rivr Rivr, the real challenge-and the opportunity-is found in the last 100 meters from the truck to the doorstep.
In a pilot program launched on Tuesday at Austin, Rivr’s four -wheel -drive Robot, which the CEO and founder Marko Bjelonic describes as “dog on skates”, will be carried packages from Veho trucks directly to the front doors of customers.
Companies are starting small, they told TechCrunch exclusively. Only a highly supervised robot will work daily, taking five to six hours of trips during a series of weeks across Austin. But both companies regard it as a crucial step towards resolving a unique slice of autonomous end -to -end tradition.
Bjelonic says in the tradition of the last mile, “Robotics has an impact on the actual resolution of these very provocative problems that is really easy enough for people but hard for robots. And we see [Rivr] As a differentiate, almost as the next evolutionary step from the sidewalks. ”
Collaboration with VEFO also gives Rivr the opportunity to test its technology and accumulate data necessary to build a general natural AI framework.
“What we have seen in the robotic space is that there is a data barrier, because chatgpt and other chatbots have the internet as training data and autonomous cars have thousands of cars on the road that can attach sensors and start collecting data,” Bjelonic told Techcrunch. “But in the world of robotics. This type of data is missing. So you need to find the case of substantial use where you can solve a real problem and then you can start collecting all the data to make these robots smarter.”
For Veho, which delivers 50 US markets for trademarks such as Sephora, SAKS, Hellofresh and much more, this collaboration is an opportunity to test the truck -like automation at the client’s door. This could eventually allow more traditions at the same time, especially in dense urban areas, where both the driver and the robot can label a specific road at the same time. Bjelonic says “Rivr Robot Assistant” can also “reduce the workload on these drivers”, taking on the naturally demanding task of walking from door to door.
During Austin’s trial, an Rivr employee will accompany the bot to ensure the safety and quality of the tradition. Bjelonic told TechCrunch that bots can work autonomously, but remote pilots will be able to use if they stick.
Austin’s pilot will begin in the most residential area of Northwest Austin before expanding to denser areas of the city, according to Fred Cook, Co -Founder and CTO of Veho. In the future, Cook says he could imagine that he combines vehicles with certain types of vehicle charging vehicles to keep them for a whole day of work.
Rivr hopes to use the lessons from his collaboration with Veho on a scale of 100 bots by next year and thousands in 2027. The start is currently operating in the United Kingdom through cooperation with the EVRI delivery platform. Rivr has raised more than $ 25 million, including a round led by Jeff Bezos evaluated the company at $ 100 million.
