A pilot project for free grocery delivery using robot couriers has launched in Kazakhstan's capital. For now, the service is only available to residents of the Yesil and Nura districts, reports infohub.kz.
The project is implemented by the Akimat of Astana jointly with the police department, Astana Innovations JSC, and Yandex Qazaqstan, with support from the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry.
To use the service, open the Yandex Go app, go to the "Lavka" section, and place an order. If the delivery address is within the pilot zone, the user can choose either a regular courier or a robot courier. There is no extra charge for robot delivery.
"The robot follows a pedestrian route to the building and stops on the sidewalk near the entrance or at the nearest available point. Users can track its movement in the app, and upon arrival, open the cargo compartment via smartphone to retrieve the order," the Akimat explained.
The robots autonomously plan routes and analyze their surroundings using navigation systems, computer vision, and object recognition. They avoid obstacles, yield to pedestrians, slow down, and stop when necessary. The average speed is about 6 km/h, and the design allows operation in various weather conditions.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that Astana held a demonstration flight of its first air taxi.