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Tesla's car shipments grew by 50 percent last year
Tesla ended 2019 on a high note. According to the company, it delivered 367,500 vehicles in 2019. That's more cars than it delivered in the past two years combined, The Verge notes.
NVIDIA's AI will help USPS handle packages 10 times faster
The US Postal Service (USPS) delivers an estimated 146 billion pieces of mail annually, including 6 billion packages. In an attempt to process package data more efficiently, USPS is experimenting with AI. Today, NVIDIA announced that it will provide USPS with its AI tech. NVIDIA claims its system will process package data 10-times faster and with higher accuracy.
MIT and Ford help delivery robots navigate to your doorstep
In order for delivery robots to drop your takeout, package or meal-kit at the door, they'll need to be able to find the door. In most cases, that requires mapping a location in advance so that the robot knows where to go. But to do that on a large scale is challenging and raises security and privacy concerns. Now, a team of engineers from MIT and Ford Motor Company think they might have an answer. They've created a technique that allows robots to navigate via clues, rather than maps.
Best Buy takes on Amazon with free next-day deliveries
Best Buy is offering free next-day deliveries over the holidays. The expedited shipping will be available to almost everyone (99 percent of customers) and include almost everything (except heavier items like big-screen TVs and refrigerators). If customers are outside of the next-day zone, they'll still get free standard shipping.
Amazon orders 100,000 EVs to help meet climate goal ten years early
Jeff Bezos has announced Amazon will sign up to a climate pledge with the aim of meeting the United Nations Paris Agreement climate goals 10 years early. He said Amazon will hit emission reduction targets by 2040, report its emissions regularly and implement decarbonization strategies. The company will balance out any remaining emissions with carbon offsets. Bezos wants 80 percent of Amazon's energy use to come from renewable sources by 2024, and for it to rely fully on renewable energy by 2030.
DoorDash eyes autonomous food delivery with latest acquisition
It's no secret that DoorDash wants to deliver your food with autonomous vehicles. Early this year it partnered with GM to test deliveries via self-driving Cruise vehicles, and in 2017, it was part of a Starship Technologies trial that sent deliveries scurrying about in six-wheeled robots. Now, DoorDash is getting a bit more serious. As The Verge reports, the company just acquired Scotty Labs, a startup that makes autonomous and remote-controlled vehicle technology.
Tesla delivered a record 95,000 cars this spring
Tesla didn't have the greatest start to 2019, but it's looking rosier toward the middle of the year. The company set records for both production and deliveries in the second quarter, having made 87,048 electric cars and delivered 95,200 of them during the three-month span. Those are large strides compared to both the last quarter (77,100 made and 63,000 delivered) and a year earlier (53,339 made and 40,740 delivered), and leave Tesla with a nicer problem than it has had in recent times: a growing production backlog.
FedEx drops Amazon (at least for Express shipments in the US)
FedEx announced today that it won't renew its FedEx Express US contract with Amazon. Instead it will "focus on serving the broader e-commerce market." While Amazon relies on other carriers, usually UPS and the United States Postal Service, FedEx is a big player. Dropping Amazon could foreshadow shipping drama.
Alphabet’s Wing will offer drone deliveries in Helsinki next month
Alphabet announced that Wing deliveries are about to start in Finland's capital of Helsinki and detailed more about where they the drones would operate and what folks could order. The pilot program will start in the Vuosaari district, an ideal spot for drone deliveries because it's bordered by water on three sides and has a dense population.
Starship's robo-couriers have completed 50,000 deliveries
The delivery robot field is still tiny, but there are signs that it's growing. Starship Technologies has announced that its autonomous courier bots have completed 50,000 commercial deliveries worldwide since its first service launched in the UK in 2018. It also boasted that the robots have traveled more than 200,000 miles.
The 'Digit' robot could be the future of humanoid pizza deliveries
Agility Robotics has unleashed a new model that joins the exclusive club of humanoid robots. "Digit" is the company's first bipedal robot to have four degree-of-freedom arms. It can use those for balance, pushing doors and lifting boxes up to 40 pounds, or even to catch it during a fall. Digit also has a futuristic industrial design that's sleeker than other humanoid bots like Boston Dynamics' famous Atlas.
Amazon starts testing its ‘Scout’ delivery robot
Amazon is working on delivery robots, and it's already bringing the self-driving machines to the streets. Starting today, six Amazon Scout devices are delivering packages in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington, north of Amazon's Seattle home base. While the robots can navigate by themselves, an Amazon employee will accompany them, at least for now.
Starbucks expands Uber Eats deliveries across the US
Starbucks is relentless in its mission to make it as easy as possible for you to get its coffee. It's long let you order your drinks for pick up through its app and now, depending on where you live, you'll be able to have a cup of joe dropped at your doorstep because the coffee giant is offering deliveries in more US cities through Uber Eats.
Amazon's Key delivery service is coming to businesses
Amazon first introduced Key because porch piracy is a thing, but many folks were shocked with a system that would let couriers enter into their homes when they were out. Amazon has slowly reduced those fears by bringing in new smart lock manufacturers like Schlage and beefing up security. As we roll into 2019, Amazon is now expanding the service (renamed to Key by Amazon) with garage entry, smart doorbell support and the latest feature, Key for Business.
PepsiCo is using robots to deliver snacks to college students
If walking to a regular vending machine seems too inconvenient, what if the vending machine came to you? PepsiCo is doing just that at the University of Pacific campus in Stockton, California with robots called "snackbots." Using a smartphone app, students can order quasi-healthy snacks like Baked Lays, Sunchips or a Starbucks Cold Brew (from PepsiCo's "Hello Goodness" vending platform), and have it delivered between 9 AM and 5 PM to one of 50 locations around the 175 acre campus.
Amazon expands its airborne shipping fleet to 50 planes
Amazon's famous drones have yet to deliver much of anything, but its jets are a different story. After launching Prime Air in 2016 with 40 jets, the company appears to have renamed it "Amazon Air" and added 10 more Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft. It now flies Amazon Air out of 20 different gateway airports "making two-day shipping possible almost anywhere in the US," the company said.
Daimler is testing electric delivery trucks on the west coast
At an event in Southern California today, Daimler Trucks of North America (DTNA) handed the keys to a Freightliner eM2 electric delivery truck to Penske Truck Leasing. The vehicle has been in development for a few years, but in the past nine months, the two companies have worked together to create something that fits nicely into Penske's business.
Renault’s EZ-PRO is a workspace, coffee truck and rolling post office
Renault, one of Europe's major automakers, is trying to help us imagine a world with fewer cars. Earlier this year, it unveiled the EZ-GO concept, a sort of anti-Uber autonomous ride-sharing vehicle for the masses. Now, it has taken the wraps off EZ-PRO, a last-mile autonomous electric delivery vehicle system that can double as a coffee truck, portable office and postal outlet on wheels. The EZ-GO was one of the most interesting concepts we've seen this year, so how does the EZ-PRO stack up? At the company's TechnoCentre near Paris, we get a closer look at Renault's multitasking, multipurpose self-driving solution.
Amazon brings Prime discounts at Whole Foods to 10 more states
Amazon's marketing modus operandi is to convince everyone to sign up to its $119 annual Prime Membership, and it's using that strategy to the max with its Whole Foods acquisition. The organic grocery chain is offering discounts to Prime members in ten more states, bringing the total to 23, nearly half the union. Henceforth, denizens of Arizona, Hawaii, and Washington and seven other states can get yellowfin tuna for $9 off per pound, or two Annie's Natural Macaroni & Cheeses for the price of one, instead of paying full price like non-Prime rabble.
Panera Bread expands delivery service nationwide
Panera Bread has been delivering lunch and dinner on demand to customers in some areas since 2016. Now, the delivery program is expanding to 897 cities across 43 states, so it might be easier for you to get that sandwich hookup.
