Amazon ramps up recruitment over driverless delivery project
Online giant Amazon is set to hire dozens of engineers to develop autonomous deliveries in the UK, after online shopping took off during lockdown.
The company said it was establishing a new team in Cambridge to focus on Amazon Scout, it's small self-driven delivery vehicle.
The Scout rolls along the pavement at walking pace, delivering to a customer's door.
A similar service run by Starship Enterprises has been operating successfully in Milton Keynes.
The company said:
"The team we're building in Cambridge will work closely with the Amazon Scout research lab in Seattle, US, to develop on-system software to help Scout delivery devices safely and autonomously navigate around pedestrians, pets, and obstacles found in residential neighbourhoods such as recycling bins and sign posts."
The company added:
Cambridge is also leading the way in developing drone delivery technologies.
ITV News Anglia reported how engineers in the city had created the first-ever drone that tracks your movements and winches down packages to directly into your hands.
In 2016 Amazon carried out the world's first delivery using drone in the county. It has also patented a move to deliver parcels by parachute.
The online firm, which already has one base in the city, has opened another site near the train station with the capacity for over 400 employees to be based there as part of the company's commitment to developing drone technology.