Would You Take a Robot For a Walk, So it Could Carry Your Shopping?
Coming to a town near you!
Would you take a robot into town to carry your shopping? Piaggio Fast Forward have created a little robot for just this purpose, and the inventors think it’ll catch on. It’s not quite Bicentennial Man — more of a box on wheels — but they have high hopes for this little helper.
The Gitamini ‘follow’ bot is on a mission to discourage people from making short trips to the shops in their car. It’s intended to encourage people to walk, when they might previously have driven.
What’s wrong with a traditional shopping trolley, you may wonder? Well, it seems younger people are less inclined to use them, but these little robots have a big novelty factor and can be fun to use. Unlike a shopping trolley, you don’t have to push them! They’re almost effortless.
According to US government statistics, the average person makes four short trips in their car every day and 35% of them are less than two miles. It’d take people about 40 minutes to walk the distance, and it’d be better for their health as well as the environment.
The concept is designed to make walking to the shops — with your pet robot — more attractive.
Greg Lynn, chief executive officer of Piaggio Fast Forward, which makes the machines told Blooomsberg, “We definitely want to be part of the ecosystem where you don’t have to take a two-ton thing to carry two bags of stuff.”
If taking a robot for a walk makes the idea of walking into town more appealing to people who wouldn’t be seen dead with a shopping trolley, that’s a win! And the novelty factor alone could get more people walking.
This particular robot was launched in 2021. It travels up to 6mph and can carry up to 20 lbs (9 kilograms) in weight. It’s capable of doing 21 miles on a single charge. It’s probably not big enough for your weekly shop, but you could fill it with beer cans and dog food, and it’d save you carrying the weight home or taking the car.
The robot works well on different surfaces and can park itself, but it’s not advanced. Present it with a sharp corner and will travel into the wall. It may struggle in very bright sunlight, and it may run off with another ‘owner’ if someone else wakes it up. So much for loyalty! You might do better to take the dog!
The cost however, will probably make most people stick with their shopping trolley or car— it’s a sobering $1,850. I’ve had cars that have cost a fraction of that!
So, would you take a robot for a walk, so it could carry your shopping?
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