The Internet department store Amazon ends the delivery bot project Scout.
The logistics industry has changed in recent years. The ideas of new delivery services by drone or by delivery bot flourished, but apparently the good years are over. This is reflected in the hiring freeze and the end of some projects. Amazon has filed thousands of patents in the field of transportation, one of which was Project Scout.
Scouts are delivery bots that should handle home deliveries for Amazon. First in Seattle, later in California, the autonomous bots, accompanied by people, drove to the front doors and opened them. People could then take out the package.
The project was formed around three years ago and just a few months ago there were community meetings with device tests. But now it should be over, which should be a consequence of the slower growth. The scout team was disbanded.
The tests apparently showed that the delivery bots cannot meet customer expectations. The tests are therefore stopped and the program revised, as formulated by Amazon spokeswoman Alisa Carroll.