Amazon is a huge company that's known for trying out some unique ideas, like its Amazon Key system for letting delivery people drop off packages inside your home or in your car's trunk, or the rollout of its cashier-less Amazon Go stores. Now Amazon has another interesting idea that it wants to try out.
Amazon Scout is a new fully-electric autonomous delivery device. These devices are the size of a small cooler and move on on sidewalks at a walking pace. Amazon says that it's currently testing Scout by delivering packages to customers in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, which isn't far from its headquarters in Seattle.
To start, there are six Amazon Scout devices that are delivering packages Monday through Friday during daylight hours. The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route, but they'll be accompanied by an Amazon employee to start to help avoid any issues. Amazon says that it developed Scout to safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians, and whatever else might be in its path.
Since Amazon Scout is so new and it's currently in testing with six devices in a single neighborhood, there's no word yet on when or if Scout will begin delivering packages more widely. Amazon is one of the biggest retailers in the world, and so it makes sense for the company to explore new delivery methods. It'd be pretty interesting to see an Amazon Scout robot rolling along in your neighborhood, and we'd like to see more about how the device works when it arrives at your house with a package.
What do you think of the Amazon Scout?