Yandex Rover Robot Making Deliveries In Russia

With Russia starting to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the country is looking for ways to limit person to person contact. To help with the effort, they are turning to robots. 

Russian multinational corporation Yandex announced the deployment of autonomous delivery robots in the city of Skolkovo. Employees at administrative offices will be able to use the bots for deliveries of things like documents and packages.

Named the Yandex Rover, the six-wheeled robot is the size of a small suitcase and has a radius of “several kilometers”. It travels on roads and sidewalks at about the speed of a pedestrian using onboard sensors and cameras to avoid obstacles and cross intersections. Rover can work day and night in all types of weather conditions and can be monitored remotely if need be.

Yandex Rover Can Be Tracked with App

Customers use an app to arrange delivery which also allows them to monitor the robot on the map and open up the compartment when it arrives.

“We designed Yandex Rover to help people automate routine delivery of small packages,” head of Yandex self-driving Dmitry Polishchuk said in a statement. “This is our first experience using the robot outside of the Yandex ecosystem, and we are glad that Rover fits seamlessly into Skolkovo’s workflow. In the future, together with the Skolkovo team, we will consider how else our robot can help optimize tasks in the city.”

Yandex said they signed a one year contract with the city of Skolkovo. They are starting with one robot during normal business hours but have plans to expand the fleet. They also hope to have the Rover deliver food as part of its Yandex Eats platform along with groceries and other essentials. 

Check out our articles on Thailand’s ninja robots fighting coronavirus and facial recognition in China’s subways.