Robot deliveries? Dispatch’s self-driving bot drops off packages

Like an oversized paper shredder on wheels, it glides through the college campus, stopping to let people enter codes on a touch screen to unlock its compartments and remove packages. Meet delivery robot Carry — a self-driving autonomous vehicle that uses GPS, cameras and lidar (a kind of laser-based radar) to navigate pedestrian walkways. “Because it’s autonomous, the operating cost is very low,” said Uriah Baalke, Dispatch co-founder and chief technology officer. While Amazon, Google and Wal-Mart pursue flying drones for last-mile deliveries, some much-smaller companies are quietly working on a simpler automated solution anchored on terra firma. “Drones are great for lightweight package and if you need to travel somewhere quickly, especially where there’s not a lot of infrastructure,” Baalke said. [...] the ground-based delivery bots, which generally will stick to sidewalks, trundling along at a walking pace of about 2 to 4.5 mph, should be easier to accommodate legally than unmanned aircraft systems or self-driving cars. Users can track its approach on their smartphones, get notified when it arrives and eventually will use the phones to unlock their compartment. “The great thing about college campuses is that they are dynamic with bikes, skateboards, pedestrians,” said Dispatch CEO and co-founder Stav Braun.