New legislation to allow “personal delivery devices” to operate on Kansas sidewalks and crosswalks at speeds up to six miles per hour failed to gain state government approval. Although Amazon lobbyists said the bill would “bring new technology and innovation to Kansas,” lawmakers decided the impact on the community was too great. Amazon and FedEx have backed similar bills in more than a dozen states this year and at least six have succeeded in delivery robot approval.
FedEx’s robots, Roxos, and Amazon’s robots, Scouts, arrive in neighborhoods by delivery van and are released to deliver packages to doorsteps without human aid. For now, the robots are still in a test stage. Amazon’s robots are currently accompanied by a human, and FedEx is ready for a second testing round.
Source: Parking Magazine November 2020
