All right: Tempe and Mesa, Arizona, you’re up first! Meet Dot. Dot, as described by DoorDash, is “the first commercial autonomous robot built to travel seamlessly on bike lanes, roads, sidewalks, and driveways, and specifically designed for local delivery.” At one-tenth the size of a car, the all-electric Dot is capable of maxing out at 20mph, and based on this marketing video, is quite sensitive to social norms and expectations:
As consumer demands rise and local businesses struggle to keep pace, DoorDash believes Dot will prove a present-day glimpse into the future.
“You don’t always need a full-sized car to deliver a tube of toothpaste or pack of diapers,” said Stanley Tang, Co-Founder and Head of DoorDash Labs. “That’s the insight behind Dot.”
I definitely applaud the attempt. And while I have a lot of questions and a handful of doubts, I’m trying to see the glass half-full on this one, and not stand in the way of innovation and progress. After all, “What do you need a car for, anyway? You’ve got legs and we’ve got a perfectly good horse!” doesn’t age well. But I just can’t shake the memory of what befell the beloved HitchBOT:
R.I.P., HitchBOT. R.I.P.
[YouTube: DoorDash] [YouTube: CBS Evening News] [AboutDoorDash.com]
