Virginia Legislature Clears Way for Amazon Delivery Robots
Retail Dive, February 27, 2020
Amazon's six-wheeled Scout robot has completed thousands of shipments in California and Washington in its early stages of testing. This cooler-sized robot is described as a "fully-electric delivery system" which follows a specified delivery route and can travel through rain, sun and even the heaviest snow storms. According to Amazon, delivery robots, like Scout, will help Amazon meet its climate goals while innovating delivery methods.
Local governments are seeing slow growth in delivery robots which could acelerate if similar bills are passed in other states across the country. Virginia's legislature is the most recent to pass such bill which will allow robots to travel on sidewalks, or the shoulder of a road with a 25 mph speed limit if no sidewalk is available, and increases their weight limit from 50 pounds to 500 pounds.
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