FedEx is halting development of Roxo, its last-mile delivery robot. Robotics 24/7 broke the story first, with FedEx confirming to the publication that the company would be shifting its focus away from the bot and toward more “nearer-term opportunities.”
Roxo was announced in 2019 as a collaboration with DEKA, the creators of the iBot wheelchair, which used multiple sets of wheels to “walk” up and down stairs and raise its user from a sitting position to eye-height. Roxo also climbed steps and curbs with multiple sets of wheels.
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The robot had a top speed of 10mph, a cargo capacity of 100lbs (45kg), and could navigate around cars and pedestrians autonomously using cameras and LIDAR sensors. Human operators were used to monitor its movements and manually steer it if necessary.
Sriram Krishnasam, Fedex’s chief transformation officer, informed employees this week that development of Roxo (part of an internal project called DRIVE) would be halted.
“Although robotics and automation are key pillars of our innovation strategy, Roxo did not meet necessary near-term value requirements for DRIVE,” wrote Krishnasam, according to internal emails obtained by Robotics 24/7.
“Although we are ending the research and development efforts, Roxo served a valuable purpose: to rapidly advance our understanding and use of robotic technology.”
Roxo had been tested in a number of countries, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.
FedEx stated that the robot was designed to travel within a three-to-five mile radius of local delivery centers, and that its “most advanced testing period” would begin in 2021.
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Roxo’s demise follows news earlier this month that Amazon is also discontinuing field tests of Scout, its last-mile delivery robot.
Amazon stated that it is “scaling back” development of the robot rather than discontinuing it entirely.The company stated that aspects of the program “weren’t meeting customers’ needs,” but did not elaborate.
