Amazon will no longer conduct public testing of its home delivery robot, Amazon Scout, according to Bloomberg, who first reported the news.
The e-commerce giant decided to shut down the public testing of Scout, a small machine that can navigate sidewalks. According to Engadget, Amazon is abandoning the public testing of the experimental machine and is "reorienting' the program.
Scout Did Not Completely Meet Customers' Needs, Amazon Says
The decision of Amazon to shut down the public testing of its home delivery robot indicates that "the e-commerce giant is starting to wind down experimental projects amid slowing sales growth."
In addition, a report from Reuters said that the shutdown of the Amazon Scout program is attributed to the fact that the company finally realized the program did not completely meet its customers' needs.
"During our Scout limited field test, we worked to create a unique delivery experience, but learned through feedback that there were aspects of the program that weren't meeting customers' needs," said Amazon spokesperson Alisa Carroll.
Because of this, Amazon decided to end its field tests and reorient the program instead.
With the shutdown, the team working on the program was disbanded. Bloomberg said that the company will offer all 400 members with new positions in Amazon.
Meanwhile, Carroll said that the Scout program will be not be completely abandoned.
According to Engadget, there will be a skeleton crew who will work on the program. The crew will consider the use of autonomous robot for deliveries.
Amazon Invests in Other Types of Robotics but Ends Some of its Programs
Scout was rolled out by Amazon in 2019. The home delivery robot was initially tested in the Seattle area. Later on, the test expanded to Southern California, Atlanta, and Franklin, Tennessee.
The robots move autonomously following a delivery route in the sidewalks. During testing, the robots were accompanied by an Amazon Scout Ambassador.
The robot works by going to a customer's house. Eventually, once it reached the customer's house, it will stop at the front door and open its lid. By then, the customer can collect their purchase.
In 2017, the e-commerce giant acquired Dispatch, a last-mile delivery company. Accordingly, Amazon utilized the company's technology in order to create Scout. Two years after, Amazon rolled out its own home delivery robot.
Scout is a fully electric robot. According to Amazon, the battery-powered robot was created as part of the move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during its delivery operations.
Despite the move to shut down the public testing of Scout, the company keeps on investing in other types of robotics.
Amazon entered a deal to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion in August 2022. The said amount is more than double for what it paid for Kiva Systems back in 2012. Currently, the FTC is conducting investigation of the deal due to a number of potential issues.
But if Amazon is investing in some robotic ventures, it is also abandoning some of its programs. For instance, it decided to discontinue Amazon Glow, a kids-focused video calling device. Likewise, it had shutdown Amazon Care, its startup telehealth service.
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