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Named after the space exploration device, the Yandex.Rover is a
cabin suitcase-sized robot that can navigate pavements at
walking pace, carrying small packages, using adapted technology
from the firm's self-driving cars unit.
Yandex, often described as 'Russia's Google', operates a number
of services that could benefit from autonomous delivery, in
particular its restaurant delivery service Yandex.Eda,
e-commerce arm Yandex.Market, a joint venture with Russian
lender Sberbank, and recently launched service for grocery
delivery, Yandex.Lavka.
Testing for the Yandex.Rover is already underway at its Moscow
headquarters, where the device moves by itself but under human
supervision, the company said in a statement.
Once the technology is perfected, Yandex will consider selling
robots to other companies, as well as using them in company
warehouses.
Yandex's head of self-driving, Dmitry Polishchuk, said that
adapting existing technologies helped in the fast development of
the Yandex.Rover, and is optimistic about their use going
forward.
"I believe robots like this will have a variety of applications
in the near future, Polishchuk said. "They could become
indispensable for the 'last mile' stage of logistics."
Yandex began testing its driverless cars in 2017. At the
Skolkovo and Innopolis tech parks outside Moscow, driverless
taxis operate in test zones.
At the end of 2018, Yandex received a license to operate in
Israel and will begin U.S-based testing from June 2020.
(Reporting by Nadezhda Tsydenova, Writing by Alexander Marrow;
Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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