Amazon halts work on ‘Scout’ delivery-bot that delivered parcels no faster than humans E-commerce behemoth Amazon.com has stopped work on its “Scout” parcel delivery robots. “During our limited field test for Scout, we worked to create a unique delivery experience, but learned through feedback that there were aspects of the program that weren’t meeting customers’ needs,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “As a result …
Ah yes, that happened to me with some flatpack furniture, a week later got a call from courier going when do you want your package as its getting in the way, because their failure to deliver the third box was my fault.
Luckily most delivery drivers I get are perfectly fine, however at my place of work they are completly different, one particular one always seems to want some form of argument.
I'd also appreciate if they made sure there was someone home before dropping the parcel on my doorstep. It seems they only knock as if to say "Grab this before a neighbour or stranger does, and tough luck if you're not in!". I live in a block of flats where they generally have several packages to deliver, if mine is still there when they've done their round, they should take it back to the depot instead of leaving it for the first comer to snatch.
Knock? Yours knock? Ours never knock or ring the bell; I can't tell you how many times I've been home when a package was delivered, but didn't know it for hours. And that's USPS, UPS, and FedEx. None of them knock or ring the bell. I can only assume they're not allowed enough time to step on the porch and push the button, just get close and toss the package on the porch instead.
Well those are worse than useless!
I get a notification from Amazon (including a picture of my package sitting on my porch) within a minute or so of the actual delivery. I know because on more than one occasion when I've had my upstairs windows open I hear the truck pull away and then see the notification pop up.
More like they're locked in the factory, and the only thing they're earning is their chance at graduating high school isn't torpedoed for refusing factory work. No high school graduation, no college and the only job they're allowed to take is standing at the other end ot a string from a water buffalo making sure it's not constipated.
Grocery delivery robot numbers are increasing steadily round here, in the towns at least (doubt they'll ever reach this semi-rural backwater).
They do have their problems though, such as one sitting by a pedestrian crossing waiting for someone to come and press the button so it could cross! That could easily be resolved though.
Round my area, Royal Mail have largely switched to electric vehicles. And what a difference to noise and, most especially, diesel exhaust - which can be very bad when they restart the engine multiple times even in our short road.
From that point of view, I'd very much appreciate one of these delivering rather than the diesel vehicles Amazon (and most others) use. But how would Amazon handle the sixty miles from their nearest depot to where I live? A local depot which employs people to transfer packages from vans or lorries to Scouts seems the only possibility. Which would require considerable numbers of transfer depots to cover even the urban areas of a country. With staff. And lots of Scouts so they can still deliver in a sensible time even at busy periods. And particularly so when they have to wait, possibly for many hours, for the customer to unload them.
So this seems feasible to use only in specific areas which match how they operate. No wonder Amazon are not expanding the project.
And I very much agree with those who prefer a brief chat with a human.
Electric delivery vehicles used to be common in the UK in towns. There were two sorts, the milk float type and the delivery platform (pull the handle and the unit follows along). I'd guess if they're not used now its because the bean counters saw normal vans as more efficient (i.e. short term cost is less).
The most common vehicle for the postman used to be the bicycle but its not that good for package delivery (As a schoolkid I used to work at Christmas as a temporary delivery person... I don't suppose this is done any more, 'elf and safety, labor laws and what-have-you.)
(One delivery vehicle that used to be a standout was the horse and cart. These are actually an early example of a semi-autonomous vehicle in that the driver/deliveryman could walk the route delivering stuff and the cart would keep pace with him.)(Again, an 'elf and safety nightmare...what used to be 'good for the roses' would now require a full hazmat cleanup crew.)
My grandfather was a delivery van driver for Lyons' Tea Houses, and he used to have a horse (named Pimple because of a large one on his nose). The horse knew the round as well as Grandpa, so when he saw Grandpa emerge from the latest delivery, he would already be on his way to the next drop, and G would simply walk along behind. Trouble came at the last drop, G had to tie the reins to a lamppost to stop Pimple from heading back to the depot, often at breakneck speed, leaving Grandpa to walk the five or so miles back. He was then issued with a petrol van, which was very unreliable and used to break down in the most unfortunate places, such as at the top of Pentonville Hill, and outside the Angel Islington.
A great uncle of mine was a drayman for one of the local breweries in the horse-drawn days (Websters, now long gone. Sam Smiths over the border in Tadcaster do still use horse-drawn drays, but mostly for publicity purposes);
Both drayman and horse would have a pint at every pub, and by the end of the round old uncle Edgar was usually pretty plastered. The shire horse, due to weighing in at the best part of a ton, handled his ale a bit better and always found his way back to the brewery mostly upright with Edgar half asleep in the dray. I don't think current health and safety laws would permit these shenanigans. The past, as they say, is a different country.
My sister married a man whose father was the publican of the Red Lion in Easton, on Portland. They had a rescue dog called Paddy, who used to hang around in the Public bar in the certain knowledge that she would get at least one pint during the evening. She often was indulged with more than one, and at chucking out time, she would be found under the settle with both front paws over her head, pissed as a newt, and woke up next morning with a huge hangover.
FWIW I only ever seem to see electric Amazon delivery vans these days around my area. The size of large Transit vans. No idea of the range, but I suspect it's decent.
Ah, here's an atricle about them buying 1800 Mercedes vans. It only seems to have a range of about 90 miles, although MB claim the average van driver only does 62 miles per day. I'd imagine Amazon have charging points at the loading docks so they can top up between delivery rounds,
They're also trialling electric HGVs. I suspect they will be a short range only option for the foreseeable future though, where vans are not enough. It has a claimed maximum range of 155 miles between charges but doesn't specify if that's empty, "average load" for a 37t full load and as far as I can tell, can only be charged at it's Tilbury and Milton Keynes depots for now.
I have never wanted an experience - just to have my parcel delivered with minimum fuss and intrusion into what I'm doing when it arrives (which, incidentally, is why I have a large letter box)..
I seriously wonder where the idea that everything has to be an "experience" came from. Most of the time it really means making simple activities complicated and annoying. But I suppose pissing off the customer is one way to gain attention (rather similar to what babies do to the same end).
"I seriously wonder where the idea that everything has to be an "experience" came from."
Marketing, obviously! More specifically, US marketing teams.
And, as usual, it's now being so overused, the marketers who originally thought it was a clever new gimmick will be working hard to come up with something "news, fresh, dynamic, emotional, green".
“We are ending our field tests and reorienting the program. We are working with employees during this transition, matching them to open roles that best fit their experience and skills.”
What the heck is Amazon going to do with the 250 midgets who were inside those coolers?
Wheelchair & buggy users could tell you how awful footpaths can be. That's an immediate limiting factor to any drone delivery service. As is range - if this thing trundles along at walking pace and contains 1 or 2 packages, and requires recharging every round trip or so then the logistics get stupid. How many drones do you need to replace one delivery driver who might have a 20 mile delivery area?
But on top of that people live in houses, flats, behind gates, up steps and all the rest. Even if a person gets a notification this drone is outside, it would be absolutely useless if "outside" means further away than a human could get, e.g. sitting at the bottom of a block of flats instead of knocking on your door.
It also doesn't account for thieves and griefers who'll be more than happy to kick the robots over, stick gum or a bag over their sensors, bust them open for their contents and so forth. Every time that happens, someone has to go out in the van and recover the damned thing.
So yeah. Maybe it could work in a campus or something where the environment is controlled. Doesn't seem viable in the wide world.
Especially considering the speed they travel at. Which begs the question, why are they so slow? Is the navigation and sensor interpretation s/w not capable of coping with higher speeds? Is the battery capacity limiting the speed in favour of range? Or is it really "safety", ie Amazon being risk averse or local authorities placing a limit?
Wheeled robots are sooo last century; drones is where it's at:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/prime-air-amazon-brings-drone-delivery-to-customers/
https://www.theregister.com/2020/03/30/why_no_delivery_drones_during_coronavirus_lockdown/
https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/23/bird_attacks_ground_google_wing_drones/
Flying drones are even more problematic. They'd to subject to aviation law, unable to land / hover in a lot of places, useless without a convenient delivery spot, a danger to the public, can't carry much payload, risk hit pylons, unable to fly in weather, a noise nuisance and would probably drop out of the skies from time to time. And if they ever deliver food you'd better believe the seagulls would figure how to knock them out of the skies.
They probably have a niche role, but I doubt to the extent that they could operate in the mainstream.
Clearly the folks in charge of the various delivery services here would be happy to automate as much labor as possible, but there is another problem. There is an element here that festers in our zero-trust society and that element will happily destroy the delivery bot to get the goods before it reaches the door. Even now without the bots, we have folks following the delivery trucks along their routes to snatch up whatever is placed on a front porch or other conveniently accessible area of the destination. Delivery bots without defense mechanisms don't stand a chance.
I'm sure they have got cameras, GPS, sensors and alarms but around my neighbourhood those things wouldn't make much of a difference as I would still only give it 5 minutes before some yob crow bars it open to nicked the contents and then throws the carcass down a back alley.
And as for flying drones, they may avoid most of the problems mentioned above of the ground drones, but our houses and apartments were not build with landing drones in mind with little helipads. So apart from maybe delivering to purpose built drop of points where you can then go an collect it from, I don't see many of us having our Amazon orders coming by drones in the foreseeable future.
"So apart from maybe delivering to purpose built drop of points where you can then go an collect it from, I don't see many of us having our Amazon orders coming by drones in the foreseeable future."
I was playing with my friend's daughters when they were younger and was swinging around the middle one when the little one wanted to do it too and came running up. There was no way I could stop fast enough to avoid a collision. She got knocked down but was ok for all of that. I think it took a couple of years off of my lifespan from the panic. What happens if a small child runs out to play with the neat flying toy painted in bright trademarked colors? I shudder to think what could happen. Every parent (grandparent, uncle, aunt) knows that if not watched closely, small children can accelerate at greater than the speed of sound. It's the gleeful yelling that covers up the sonic boom.
"I'm betting they were discontinued because people suck."
There's that, but it's a small unit and somebody has to load and unload the thing. If a package is too long to fit inside or a couple of shipments won't all fit, it's back to needing a human for the delivery. What would be the point in having this thing only be able to deliver a shipment to one house? Somebody has to be present to get the delivery as well so if there is nobody available, it has to crawl back to its master and be reloaded.
I can see that something much larger that can follow the delivery person might be useful. They can park the van at the end of the street and a package trolley can follow them down the block as they visit each address. I'm talking about something that's the size of a shelving rack. That wouldn't need to be super secure since the delivery person would be nearby, but would have locking covers so people can just run up and grab some boxes.
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