Amazon Launches Delivery by Autonomous Vehicle in Washington State Suburb

Amazon began delivery by automated vehicles Wednesday in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, it blogged. A promotional video shows a six-wheeler, the “size of a small cooler,” rolling along a sidewalk at what Amazon calls a “walking pace” and then stopping in front of a home for drop-off. A customer, who has been notified that the bot has arrived, walks out the door to the sidewalk, picks up the lid and retrieves her package. Many questions remain about the program, but Amazon’s initial description says six Amazon Scout devices will deliver packages Monday through Friday during daylight hours in the community. Though the all-electric bots will be autonomous, they will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee, but the company didn’t say how long that would last. Scout was developed at Amazon’s R&D lab in the same county and can “safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path.” Amazon will take what it learns from the program “so Amazon Scout can, over time, provide even more sustainability and convenience to customer deliveries.” The company didn't respond to questions.