Vayu Robotics has announced the launch of what it claims to be the world’s first curbside delivery robot powered by an advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based model. The robot is intended to reduce e-commerce delivery costs and will be deployed by a major U.S. e-commerce company (name withheld).
Vayu Robotics’ robots stand apart from traditional mobile robotic systems that often rely on expensive LiDAR sensors and software modules designed to perform a single task. Instead, the delivery robot integrates a transformer-based mobility infrastructure model and cost-effective passive sensors to enable autonomous navigation in a variety of environments, including stores, city streets, and residential areas, without the need for pre-mapped roads.
The robot can carry loads of up to 100 pounds at speeds of just under 20 miles per hour.
According to the company, the core innovation underlying this model is its ability to function without the high costs associated with LiDAR technology, which has historically led to expensive hardware and less robust software. By combining AI models with low-cost sensing technology, it aims to provide a more scalable and economically viable solution for e-commerce deliveries.
Vayu Robotics was founded by Anand Gopalan, Mahesh Krishnamurthi, and Nitish Srivastava, veterans with extensive experience in the robotics and mobility space. Anand Gopalan, former CEO of Velodyne, said, “The unique technology we developed at Vayu has enabled us to solve the problems that have plagued delivery robots for the last decade and create a solution that can finally be deployed at scale to actually transport goods anywhere, at low cost.” Gopalan’s co-founders, Krishnamurthi and Srivastava, both have backgrounds at Apple SPG and Lyft, bringing additional depth and expertise to the company.
The launch is heavily venture capital backed, with Vayu Robotics raising $12.7 million in a seed round from Khosla Ventures last year.
The company has already signed substantial commercial agreements with major e-commerce companies to deploy 2,500 delivery robots, and the team is also partnering with a globally renowned robotics manufacturer to replace their lidar sensors with Vayu’s sensing technology for other robotic applications.
Kanu Gulati, Partner at Khosla Ventures, said: “At Khosla Ventures, we believe in backing businesses that can unlock large markets with significant, differentiated technologies. Vayu is a great example of this, as the company is deploying novel sensing technology and AI-based models to robotics challenges that have the potential to have a significant economic and societal impact.”
Gopalan also highlighted the wide range of potential applications for Vayu’s software technology: “Our software is agnostic to the robot’s form factor and has already been deployed on several wheeled form factors. In the near future, Vayu’s software technology will enable movement in quadrupedal and bipedal robots, allowing us to penetrate those markets as well.”
As the e-commerce sector continues to grow, and with 23% of US retail purchases predicted to be made online by 2027, pressure to reduce delivery costs remains high. Vayu Robotics aims to address this issue by introducing a more adaptable and cost-effective solution that is set to have a major impact on the logistics and transportation industry. The company’s founders believe that in the future, their innovative, low-cost robotics technology can be further expanded beyond e-commerce delivery into a variety of other applications.
