Wheeled robots are now delivering packages to your door.

The following scenario is already happening

In Austin, United States, a robot is starting to make deliveries at the door of their house. Customers are seeing a robot with legs and wheels delivering their online order. A new generation of urban robots has just entered the scene, radically changing the way products are delivered in the so-called last mile, the most complex and expensive section of the entire logistics chain.

And not only do they roll, they also climb stairs, avoid obstacles and recognize the buyer by the photo used in the app. The startup RIVR, a specialist in advanced robotics, joined forces with VEHO, one of the fastest growing delivery platforms in the United States. Together they created a delivery system that uses robots capable of moving in an optimized way, using wheels for speed and legs for agility.

During initial testing a RIVR operator closely accompanies to ensure safety and monitor performance in real-world scenarios, the robot's adaptive mobility was designed with redundancies and safety protocols for unpredictable urban environments, integrated AI called General Physical AI allows them to recognize humans and obstacles, all this without depending on an obstacle-free wax or constant supervision.

Designed for dense urban environments and multipoint logistics scenarios

As usual, the company says that "the idea is not to replace human delivery people, but to work together with them", but we know that jobs will be replaced. In detail about the technology, it is said that the human delivery person will guide the vehicle to the destination and park the robot. It will get out alone with the package. It will walk to the customer's door. It will make the delivery based on the instructions received via the app and will even take a photo as proof. When the vehicles have integrated AI, what will the human do?

Unlike drones or sidewalk robots that still face illegal technical limitations, RIVR robots were built for dense urban environments and multi-point logistics scenarios, this means that they are effective not only in quiet streets in residential neighborhoods but also in condominiums, stairs and highly complex roads, the plan is clear to put a million robots into operation in the main cities of the world.

If, on the one hand, automation speeds up deliveries and alleviates the human workload, on the other hand, it opens debates about privacy, urban security and adaptation of cities to coexist with smart thefts, what will the daily interaction with these machines be like in the hallways of buildings, on shared sidewalks or in front of your door.

To what extent are we prepared to entrust the task of urban logistics to artificial intelligence, and would you let a robot climb the steps of your house to deliver an order? or do you still prefer the human with a smile.