Robo-shop... droid that delivers to your doorstep
HE’S unlikely to strike up much of a conversation with you at the doorstep.
But this little robot could soon be a familiar face around the neighbourhood – delivering anything from groceries to takeaway pizza straight to the front door.
Ford is developing an autonomous, twolegged droid designed to arrive in the back of a self-driving car and unload online orders for delivery.
A video of Digit, who operates using a radar and cameras, shows the robot walking just like a human – though his knees are back to front to aid stability.
In theory the droid, which can carry more than 40lb of weight, will be able to walk up and down stairs and even recover his balance if knocked.
And in a feat of teamwork, the driverless car will create detailed maps to pass on to Digit so he can navigate the best way to the door.
Ford’s chief technology officer Ken Washington said: ‘As humans, we take these abilities for granted. Gaining access to a customer’s door often requires walking through obstacles, including stairs, which can be hard for robots with wheels.
‘Digit has been designed to walk upright without wasting energy, so it has no issue traversing the environments most people do every day.’
He added: ‘Digit’s unique design allows it to tightly fold itself up for easy storage in the back of a self-driving vehicle until it’s called into action.’
Damion Shelton, of co-developer Agility Robotics, said Digit had managed to survive a 12-hour video shoot without any falls or spills, adding: ‘This is a big deal for Ford to be making this type of move.’