Co-founders of the video chatting system Skype have developed a self-driving robot that they claim is capable of making local grocery deliveries for under $2, according to the Telegraph.
A new company called Starship, with Skype developers Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, have created a robot capable of navigating on its own using "proprietary mapping and navigation technology." It goes about 4 mph and supposedly can avoid obstacles while traveling.
The current plan for the self-driving robots is to have them deliver groceries right to customers' doorsteps in 30 minutes or less, according to Quartz. It follows the current trend of retail distributors developing new automated delivery technology, like Amazon's highly anticipated drone system. The service would also compete with other grocery delivery services, like Peapod.
The robots can each carry about 20 pounds and would operate from hubs at grocery stores, returning after deliveries to recharge and clean up.
Developers are busy testing the machines and are hoping to make official pilot runs in East London by some point in 2016, according to Fortune.
"If we decide to start serving an area, we need to run the robots for some period of time under human control - maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks, to map all the landmarks and lanes and potholes. After that, the robot can drive itself," said Friis.
