If you were hoping one day to see a robot at your door to deliver your latest Amazon order, know that’s not going to happen. Scout, the delivery robot of the American multinational, has effectively been removed from the sidewalks. The autonomous robot, the size of a fridge and equipped with six wheels, was supposed to make deliveries easier, especially during the first wave of COVID-19.
An unsuitable delivery robot for consumers
Launched in January 2019 in Seattle and later in Southern California, Georgia and Tennessee, Scout was designed to stop at the doorstep of customers, who only had to pick up their package once the lid was opened. . The delivery robot also had the advantage of emitting few greenhouse gases, which was part of the company’s policy of going green.
But what was intended to be a great innovation in terms of delivery turned out to be a failed experiment. “We have worked to create a unique delivery experience. But we have learned from customer feedback that some aspects of the program did not meet their needs,” Amazon spokeswoman Alisa Carroll told Bloomberg, without elaborating on the flaws. . of the said program.
Several hundred employees on the sidelines
The creation of the delivery robot required the work of almost 400 people. Amazon promised employees affected by the dissolution of the Scout team new career opportunities within the group. However, the delivery robot project is not completely buried by the e-commerce giant. Part of the old team is working on a new version of the autonomous robot, inconclusive at the moment.
The delivery robot isn’t the only Amazon program that has been abandoned in recent weeks. According to Bloomberg, Amazon Glow, a product dedicated to children for video calls, and Amazon Care, a connected health service (two programs not available in France), have also been stopped by the multinational.
These serial closures follow Amazon’s desire to reduce development costs. In fact, the American company experienced a sharp drop in sales in the first quarter of 2022, 18.2% less than last year.
Source: BFM TV
