Industry observers have noted that high-tech and robotics are bellwethers for the global economy as a whole. As inflation and recession concerns mounted in October, FedEx shut down its Roxo Sameday Bot program as Amazon scaled back its Scout robot delivery service.
A FedEx memo obtained by Robotics 24/7 said the Roxo cancellation was part of a reorganization called DRIVE, while Amazon told The Verge that it plans to continue developing Scout.
Interest in delivery robots remains strong (see previous item), but two setbacks in the same week came as a reminder that safe and cost-competitive robots aren’t easy to build. This is similar to the challenges facing self-driving cars.
In addition, e-commerce demand slowed as a result of relaxing COVID-19 restrictions and inflation-constrained consumer spending. Major logistics providers and online retailers will no doubt keep a close eye on which delivery robots get traction with larger fleet deployments in the coming year.
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