Amazon has announced the creation of a new team at its Cambridge development centre in the UK to work on the company’s electric autonomous delivery robots.
Amazon Scout devices are the size of a small box and are designed roll along pavements at a walking pace. The service is in field test mode, currently delivering packages to customers in four states in the USA, with the project set to expand.
According to Amazon, the Cambridge team will consist of dozens of software development engineers.
“The team we’re building in Cambridge will work closely with the Amazon Scout research lab in Seattle 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,” said Sean Scott, vice president of Amazon Scout.
The creation of the Amazon Scout team in Cambridge follows an announcement from Amazon last week that it will create 10,000 new permanent roles across the UK in 2020, taking the company’s total permanent UK workforce to more than 40,000.
