Yandex plans to launch a pilot autonomous delivery service in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA in the near future, VentureBeat writes . In addition, the company plans to enter the Israeli and South Korean markets to test delivery using Yandex.Rovers.
Yandex said that they chose these countries, since the company is already testing self-driving cars in the United States and Israel , and there are already teams of engineers in Ann Arbor and Tel Aviv.
In Korea, Yandex has been cooperating with Hyundai Mobis in the field of self-driving cars for several years. The first robots have already arrived in the United States, and will soon appear in Tel Aviv and Seoul. The exact launch date is not yet known.
According to the head of unmanned areas Dmitry Polishchuk , Yandex is now “actively negotiating” about partnerships with companies in Russia and abroad.
The managing director of the company, Tigran Khudaverdyan, said that in 2021 Yandex plans to conclude commercial contracts for the supply of robots to other companies.
In addition, the company said that since April 2020, courier robots have delivered more than 4 thousand orders. In total, Yandex has about 35 robots that deliver orders from the Lavka and Food services in four districts of Moscow and Innopolis.
Recall that in February of this year, Yandex reported about 1,500 deliveries by courier robots in Moscow and Innopolis and an improved robot design. The Rover received a larger order compartment, and also increased the battery life to 10 hours on a single charge.
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Source: VentureBeat
