FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced today a development incutting-edge delivery solutions to meet the rapidly changing needsof consumers — the FedEx SameDay Bot — an autonomous deliverydevice designed to help retailers make same-day and last miledeliveries to their customers.
With the bot, retailers will be able to accept orders fromnearby customers and deliver them by bot directly to customers’homes or businesses the same day. FedEx is collaborating withcompanies such as AutoZone, Lowe’s, Pizza Hut, Target, Walgreensand Walmart to help assess retailers’ autonomous delivery needs. Onaverage, more than 60 percent of merchants’ customers live withinthree miles of a store location, demonstrating the opportunity foron-demand, hyper-local delivery.
“The FedEx SameDay Bot is an innovation designed to change theface of local delivery and help retailers efficiently address theircustomers’ rising expectations,” said Brie Carere, executive vicepresident and chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx.“The bot represents a milestone in our ongoing mission to solve thecomplexities and expense of same-day, last mile delivery for thegrowing e-commerce market in a manner that is safe andenvironmentally friendly.”
The FedEx bot is being developed in collaboration with DEKADevelopment & Research Corp. and its founder Dean Kamen, inventorof many life-changing technologies, including the iBot? PersonalMobility Device and the Segway® .
“The bot has unique capabilities that make it unlike otherautonomous vehicles,” Kamen said. “We built upon the power base ofthe iBot, an advanced, FDA-approved, mobility device for thedisabled population with more than 10 million hours of reliable,real-world operation. By leveraging this base in an additionalapplication, we hope that the iBot will become even more accessibleto those who need it for their own mobility.”