Amazon robots are being tested in the US to jump out of vans and deliver your packages

Amazon is working on a futuristic twist to package delivery – robots that can leap out of vans and walk up to your door.

According to a recent report, the tech giant is developing AI-powered humanoid robots that could one day replace or assist human delivery drivers.

The idea is to make the ‘last mile’ of delivery faster and more efficient.

While it might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, Amazon is already putting the concept to the test.

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The company is said to be building a ‘humanoid park’ in San Francisco to train these Amazon robots in an indoor environment roughly the size of a coffee shop.

The robots are being taught how to navigate obstacles and eventually step out of Amazon’s electric Rivian vans to make deliveries on their own.

In some cases, a robot might deliver to one house while a human driver drops off a package at another, speeding up the process.

While the tech giant is creating the software that powers the bots, it’s relying on other companies for the physical robots themselves.

One such company is Agility Robotics, whose humanoid robot, Digit, has already been tested in Amazon warehouses.

These trials allowed human workers to hand off physical tasks to the robots and focus on managing operations.

Peggy Johnson, Agility’s CEO, even described the role as turning employees into ‘robot managers’.

The company’s humanoid robots were last seen working for a Spanx factory in Georgia.

Amazon has a strong interest in automation.

Its Zoox division is focused on self-driving cars, and in the UK, the company has been given the green light to test delivery drones that can fly beyond a human’s line of sight.

The humanoid robot project is just the latest example of how the company is looking to innovate the way packages get to your doorstep.

In fact, the tech giant already has robots with tactile senses that can actually feel what it’s grabbing in their warehouses today.

Experts say the biggest challenge won’t be building the robots, but making sure they can reliably operate in the unpredictable real world.

While Amazon robots might do well in simple environments, like clear driveways and uniform doorsteps, they may struggle when faced with pets, toys, or kids running about.

Amazon’s next step is to move these robots from indoor testing to real-world ‘field trips,’ where they’ll try making actual deliveries.

If the trials go well, your next package might be handed to you by Amazon robots stepping out of a van.

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