Postmates introduces Serve, its robotic delivery device that it built from the ground up

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On-demand delivery company Postmates has introduced the newest member of its fleet, Serve, which the company claims is the first robotic delivery device created from the ground up by an on-demand delivery company.

Postmates says that after seven years and hundreds of millions of deliveries, it realized that it was in a unique position to create its very own autonomous delivery vehicle, which combines a patented Socially-Aware-Navigation system with the company’s proprietary Postmates software.

“By developing an in-house, design-first approach, Serve was built to respect cities, meet customer demands, and help local businesses sell even more,” Postmates says in a company blog post.

Postmates says that it was able to identify even greater efficiencies when it augmented its existing fleet of more than 350,000 Postmates with rovers, after leveraging data to model the modern way in which food and goods move around our cities. The company’s goal is to eventually move those goods at no cost.

Designed to work alongside the existing Postmates fleet to move small objects over short distances efficiently, Serve runs on electricity and moves at walking speed, ultimately moving deliveries away from congested streets, and onto sidewalks.

Serve has a number of unique features, including its advanced set of sensors including Velodyne Lidar, as well as its dynamic lighting in the eyes and a light ring on top to signal movements such as a change in direction. Serve can also carry 50 pounds and travel 30 miles on a single charge.

Postmates says that “at its core, Serve embodies our vision for the future of delivery,” but that comes with a set of principles for Postmates; one being “People and Serve in harmony,” and the other being “Community-centered design demands equity & inclusion.”

Serve will give the rest of Postmates’ fleet “superpowers,” the company says, as it will allow the rest of the fleet to deliver more.

“A Postmate wouldn’t have to navigate a dense urban neighborhood searching for parking. Serve could instantly pick up orders and transport them a few blocks to a postmate away from occupied parking spaces and traffic,” Postmates explains.

Postmates notes that there is a fear that robots will replace the workforce, but it points out that “people are essential to solving problems on the go”—which it says Serve does.

“From external partnerships with automotive companies, to our own in-house robotics supply chain, we’ve been able to test delivery routes on sidewalks across numerous states without impacting a single Postmate, while help retailers sell even more during peak periods and reducing car congestion,” the company says.

Postmates adds that its fleet completes millions of deliveries each month, making the company's technology best suited to navigate complex urban environments.

“Our goal is to help them do this easier and more efficiently,” the company says.

In terms of its second set of principles, “Community-centered design demands equity & inclusion,” Postmates believes that deploying new technologies can be done by prioritizing the equity and inclusion of all communities.

With this in mind, the company is testing prototypes at senior living communities in Northern California, where Serve is learning to operate with people in mind, while refining its Social-Aware-Navigation technology to respect elderly or disabled neighbors on sidewalks that people use daily.