Almaty is now using Yandex Qazaqstan robots for home deliveries of orders from restaurants and cafes via its Yandex Go service.
Equipped with sensors, including lidar and cameras, which enable them to recognize objects and avoid obstacles and pedestrians, as well as a neural network system capable of recognizing traffic lights and road signs, the robots move independently around the city. With a capacity of 60 liters, each robot’s cargo compartment can accommodate, for example, several pizzas and drinks, accessed by customers via the Yandex Go app.
During the first phase, the robots will operate within one city district but in time, travel further afield and expand connections between new cafes and restaurants.
Welcoming the initiative, Zhanabek Olzhas Nurzhanuly, head of Almaty’s digitalization department, said the use of the robots could help make the city greener and more convenient for residents.
In addition to making deliveries, robots have also appeared in Yandex Maps, where they can replace the usual navigation cursor via a simple app. update.
Delivery robots are actively used in several countries. For example, Starship Technologies’ robots have already made over 5 million deliveries in Estonia, the UK, and U.S. In the latter, in partnership with Grubhub, they mainly serve university campuses, and in Europe, robots deliver food and goods via apps such as Bolt Food,
