Amazon plans to build delivery robot tech in Finland

<div></div> <p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"></span></p> <div class="RelatedQuotes-relatedQuotes" id="RegularArticle-RelatedQuotes"> <div class="RelatedQuotes-titleAndTime"> <p class="RelatedQuotes-text">In this article</p> </div> <ul class="RelatedQuotes-list"> <li class="QuoteItem-item" aria-label="Quote for null"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AMZN" class="QuoteItem-link"><span class="QuoteItem-symbol">AMZN</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="InlineImage-imageEmbed" id="ArticleBody-InlineImage-105695322" data-test="InlineImage"> <div class="InlineImage-wrapper"> <div class="InlineImage-imagePlaceholder" style="padding-bottom:55.55555555555556%"> <div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div> </div> <div> <div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCaption">Amazon is launching Scout, an autonomous delivery device.</div> <div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCredit">Source: Amazon</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="group"> <p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AMZN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a> announced Thursday that it plans to develop new technology for its autonomous delivery vehicles in Helsinki, Finland.</p> <p>The Seattle-headquartered tech giant said in <a href="https://blog.aboutamazon.eu/innovation/amazon-launches-a-new-development-center-in-helsinki-to-support-amazon-scout" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a blog</a> post that it is setting up a new “Development Center” to support Amazon Scout, which is a fully electric autonomous delivery robot that is being tested in four U.S. locations.</p> <div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div> <p>Two dozen engineers will be based at the Amazon Scout Development Center in Helsinki initially, the company said, adding that they will be focused on research and development.</p> <p>One of their main aims will be to develop 3D software that “simulates the complexity of real life” and ensures “Scout can navigate safely while making deliveries,” Amazon said.</p> <p>“The Amazon Scout team in Helsinki will grow over time,” Amazon said. “We’re now hiring engineers who are at the forefront of robotics and autonomous systems technology.”</p> <p>The launch of the new development center in Helsinki comes half a year after <a href="https://arcticstartup.com/amazon-buys-finnish-3d-firm-umbra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon reportedly acquired local 3D modeling firm Umbra</a>, which also has offices in the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region, according to LinkedIn. Founded in 2006, Umbra reportedly raised $3.4 million from investors before it was acquired.</p> <p>“Umbra empowers 3D graphics designers and engineers to create, optimize, share and view their designs in real-time on virtually any device,” Umbra writes on its LinkedIn page. “As the established gaming industry standard in graphics optimization for more than a decade, Umbra is now redefining rapid visualization for all industry ecosystems utilizing complex 3D models.”</p> <div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div> <p>Amazon did not immediately respond when CNBC tried to confirm the acquisition. </p> </div> <div class="group"> <p>It’s not uncommon for Amazon to start up in a new city following a local acquisition. Indeed, the company set up a presence in Cambridge, U.K., following the acquisition of AI start-up Evi Technologies. Amazon in the U.K. started with the acquisition of Bookpages, which is why Amazon was based in the English town of Slough for decades.</p> <p>Amazon said the development center in Helsinki will work alongside Amazon staff at the Amazon Scout R&D lab in Seattle, as well as teams in Tubingen, Germany and Cambridge where Amazon has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-secret-drone-testing-site-cambridge-discovered-2016-8?r=US&IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developing delivery drones for several years</a>.</p> <p>Roughly the size of a small cooler, Amazon Scout vehicles can transport small packages along sidewalks at walking pace.</p> <p>Delivery robots are widely seen as a potentially useful asset in last mile delivery but they could also replace hundreds of thousands of jobs.</p> <p>They’re also being developed by Starship Technologies, which was set up in 2014 by Skype co-founders Janus Friis and Ahti Heinla.</p> <p>In January, Starship <a href="https://medium.com/starshiptechnologies/one-million-autonomous-deliveries-milestone-65fe56a41e4c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that its robots have completed 1 million deliveries in countries including the U.K., the U.S., Estonia and Germany.</p> </div> <div id="ArticleBody-MobileAdhesion" class="MobileAdhesion-container" data-module="mps-slot"></div> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/technology/2021/07/01/amazon-plans-to-build-delivery-robot-tech-in-finland/">Amazon plans to build delivery robot tech in Finland</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/technology">Patabook Technology</a>.</p>

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