Big news from big robots! That’s what we’ve got this week, with some particularly ginormous machines making moves from street, to campus, to highway, to farm.
Ottonomy & Sodexo Bring Delivery Bots to Universidad Europa
College campuses continue to prove fertile ground for delivery robots, with Ottonomy’s Ottobots en route to Universidad Europa, a private university in Spain. UE will be the first college in the country to host delivery robots, with provisioning handled by Sodexo, the food service giant that operates around the globe. The service will operate from 9 AM to 5 PM, with deliveries expected in 15 minutes or less; no word yet if the robots will also take a customary mid-afternoon siesta.
Cartken & Uber Eats Team up in Japan
Uber Eats is expanding on its partnership with Cartken, bringing the startup’s robots to Tokyo, having previously partnered in Miami and Fairfax, VA. Cartken’s Model C robot holds 27 liters (~7.1 gallons) / 20 kg (44 lbs) of cargo, and travels at 3.3 miles per hour, with both autonomous and remotely-piloted operations. The Japanese deployment is facilitated by Mitsubishi Electric, which previously brought in Cartken to service Japanese malls. Japan passed legislation allowing on-road deployment last April.
Curbivore Previews 2024 Speakers
Take a peak at Curbivore’s initial speakers: bold technologists, delivery daredevils, civic innovators, famed chefs & restaurateurs, influential journalists and so much more. Tickets are still available, but prices jump soon! (And remember, OttOmate Pro subscribers can attend for free.)
John Deere Debuts Autonomous, Electric Herbicide Sprayer
Ag-giant John Deere just premiered a new electric version of its autonomous herbicide sprayer. Called GUSS, the Global Unmanned Spray System, it’s been jointly developed with GUSS Automation (guess they ran out of names,) and follows the success of an earlier, gas-powered variant. GUSS uses a combination of Lidar and GPS to navigate, allowing one employee to monitor up to eight vehicles.
Einride Makes Autonomous Deliveries for GE Appliances
Swedish AV trucker Einride just hit a major milestone, deploying a cab-less truck to the open roads of Tennessee, where it made warehouse deliveries for GE Appliances. Once at the GE site, another autonomous machine, called Slipbot, automatically loads and unloads the cargo. Einride also works with a number of food giants, including Mars and Heineken.
In Other News
Figure AI raising $675 million for its multi-functional humanoid robots. Aviant expands drone delivery to Lillehammer, Norway. After reporting record profits, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang foresees “giant suite of robotics companies… emerging.” Zenblen brings robotic smoothie kiosks to new locations. Don’t forget to check out those Curbivore speakers and snag tickets.