Yandex.Rover

2024: road accident in Moscow

August 5, 2024 robot- the supplier Yandex"" collided with a car at a pedestrian crossing in. To Moscow A traffic accident occurred on Zubovsky Boulevard in the metropolitan area of ​ ​ Khamovniki.

It is reported that the robot was moving along a pedestrian crossing in accordance with the rules of the road - at the allowing signal of the traffic light. The automatic delivery man almost completed the crossing of the street when he was hit by a Kia Rio car. It is noted that as a result of the accident, the robot received minor damage. At the same time, none of the people were injured, and the driver of the car and Yandex have no complaints about each other.

When the robot almost completed the move, it hit the car. As a result of the incident, no one was injured, - said representatives of the Russian IT company.

A video from the scene was released on the Internet: it shows a driver sitting in his car, a traffic police officer filming the incident with a smartphone camera, and a robot. Meanwhile, disputes broke out on social networks about who should pay for damage in an accident with an automated courier. The fact is that there is no separate clause on drones in the rules of the road. If we consider the robot as a vehicle, then it should not have been at the pedestrian crossing, and then the driver could make a claim. The drone also does not fall under the obstacle criterion, since, according to traffic rules, it is a stationary object or a faulty, damaged vehicle. And the robot was in motion at the time of the accident.

Auto lawyer Lev Voropaev believes that in the event of an accident with drones, the culprit should be installed in accordance with the current traffic rules. If the driver of the vehicle with the current OSAGO policy is to blame, then the insurance company will reimburse the cost of damage caused to the owner of the robot. Similarly, in the event of the drone's guilt, another participant in the accident will receive compensation.^[1]

2021

Announcement of 3rd generation courier robots

On November 17, 2021, Yandex announced the creation of third-generation courier robots. They began to be used to deliver food on the campus of the US University of Arizona, where about 35 thousand people live.

Among the main innovations in Yandex.Rovers is an improved lidar, which allows you to better see close objects: the vertical viewing angle has become wider, and the number of emitted rays has increased from 16 to 64. An additional camera with a large focal length also appeared, allowing you to see traffic lights on the opposite side of even a very wide road.

Yandex introduced 3rd generation courier robots

The new rover will be able to transport up to 20 kg of cargo in a 60-liter compartment - for example, six 40-centimeter pizzas and four two-liter bottles of soda. The second generation robot houses five pizzas without soda.

According to the developers, the third generation suspension has become softer. Now it is easier for robots to climb high curbs, ride off-road, overcome snow porridge and other difficult sections of the path. Robots began to move quieter on tiles, paving stones and on exits from curbs.

Third-generation rovers were tested in the summer of 2021 in the central part of Russia, so they created a special platform with artificial snow to check the new suspension in winter conditions. According to Yandex, there are no suitable winter tires on the market, so the company also makes them.

We experimented a lot - for example, we changed the pattern and depth of the protector - and by the advent of new robots we found the most successful options, "Yandex said.

In addition, the updated delivery robots are equipped with a removable battery. Now he does not need to take a break to charge - replacing the dead battery with a fresh one takes less than a minute. When the battery is removed, the rover is powered by a small backup battery, the company said.^[2]

Russian Post began delivering parcels using Yandex robots

On October 25, 2021, Russian Post announced the launch of a delivery service using Yandex robots. We are talking about the use of Yandex.Rover devices, which at the first stage will deliver parcels from 27 post offices in Moscow. At first, 36 robotic couriers were purchased. Read more here.

Start of delivery of orders to residential buildings in Moscow by courier robots

In February 2021 robot , "" Yandex.Rover began delivering orders "" to Yandex.Shops residential buildings on the Khodynsky field in. To Moscow The company promises to expand the geography of automated couriers. More. here

2020

Yandex.Eda has courier robots delivering orders in Moscow and Innopolis

On December 9, 2020, Yandex"" announced the start of using courier robots to deliver user orders. " Yandex.Food So far drones , "" Yandex.Rover are available only to employees and visitors of the Belaya Ploshchad business district near the Belorusskaya metro station in, To Moscow as well as Innopolis near Kazan. More. here

Start of delivery of products from Yandex.Lavka

On October 22, 2020, it became known that Yandex.Rover courier robots are starting to deliver products from Yandex.Lavka in Moscow. This was announced on his page on the social network Facebook by the general director of Yandex.Taxi Daniil Shuleiko.

This handsome man is already preparing to go to shift in one of the "shops" in Moscow. It turned out that agreeing on the appearance of the Rover is not a task for a day, "he wrote.

According to Shuleiko, first Yandex.Rover will deliver orders issued through Yandex.Lavka to a limited range of customers in business centers. In order to get the purchased products, you will need to go down to the street and pick them up from the robotic machine.

Yandex.Rover courier robots begin delivering products from Yandex.Lavka

Daniil Shuleiko in the comments to his Facebook post admitted that there is a risk of stealing the robot, noting that it is quite heavy and its movements are monitored. In which areas of Moscow the delivery of Yandex.Rovers products will work, by October 22, 2020, it was not reported.

Yandex expects that in the future delivery robots will be used simultaneously with couriers, which will satisfy the peak demand for delivery. At the same time, unlike couriers, robots will not be able to enter the entrances - customers will have to leave the house to pick up the order. Only the recipient of the order using the mobile application can open the cover of the robot cargo compartment.

Vadim Bolshakov, head of the ATOL development department, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that weather conditions can interfere with the robot: snow, rains, frosts. It can get stuck on ice or in a snowdrift. Perhaps it will not go around the giant puddle either. Many stairs, curbs and trails not marked on the map. For the robot, such routes, confirmed Oleg Kivokurtsev, Development Director of Promobot, are extremely difficult and even dangerous.^[3]

Beginning of tests in Moscow

In July 2020, Yandex began testing the unmanned Yandex.Rover, its courier robot. He was first seen on Malaya Dmitrovka Street in Moscow.

This is a six-wheeled apparatus about a meter long and about half a meter high, designed to move along sidewalks at the speed of a pedestrian. The robot is capable of not only recognizing objects surrounding it and bypassing obstacles, but also laying a route, allowing people and animals to pass. It is equipped with lidar, which means it is well oriented both in the daytime and at night. However, it is still difficult to say from the video - the "smart" suitcase on wheels moves autonomously or is controlled by engineers from laptops.

Earlier, Yandex.Rover was tested only on the territory of the Moscow office of the company, since April it could be seen in Skolkovo, where a robot courier delivers documents and parcels. The customer only needs to meet him, unlock the cargo compartment lock through the mobile application, and then pick up the parcel.

All this happens within the framework of an experiment approved by a special law on the development of Artificial Intelligence in Moscow. Experts are confident that in a few years the delivery robot can seriously compete with the "live" couriers of the same Yandex.Eda or Deliveri.Klub.

Experts also suggest that, in addition to the main functions, the robot can carry out others without additional costs, in particular, monitor the order along its route using special video cameras, as well as collect big data from all pedestrians encountered along the way with smartphones.

2019: Robot's first demonstration

On November 7, 2019, Yandex introduced a delivery robot, which is designed to transport small goods on city sidewalks. The device of the Russian company was called Yandex.Rover.

The robot is able to recognize objects around, plan a route, bypass obstacles, let pedestrians and animals pass, and thanks to lidar (technology for obtaining and processing information about remote objects using active optical systems) it can do all this in the dark.

Yandex introduced a courier robot for transporting goods

 The robot is based on the development of Yandex for an unmanned vehicle. Different sets of sensors, new chassis designs for more complex terrain and fragile loads are being tested on the delivery robot.

The robot uses a classic design for such equipment with three pairs of wheels and vertical loading of the package. To do this, a hatch is installed at the top of the robot, which can only be opened by a company employee and a client using a mobile application for unlocking. The height of the robot is about half a meter.

By the time Yandex.Rover is announced, several robots are already driving on the roads, they are carrying documents from Yandex headquarters to the bus, and they are driving it to other offices of the company.

Delivery robots can become indispensable for the "last mile" stage in logistics, said   Dmitry Polishchuk, head of unmanned vehicles at Yandex. 

Yandex.Rover can reach its destination in fully autonomous mode, but by November 7, 2019 it is still controlled using a remote operator.

It is assumed that robots can become indispensable for the "last mile" stage in logistics, and the company itself plans to use it in the Yandex.Eda and Yandex.Lavka projects to deliver goods from the Beru online store or in warehouse logistics.^[4]

Notes