Amazon launches new autonomous self-delivery device called Scout

Ecommerce giant Amazon today unveils a new autonomous delivery device called Scout. Just the size of a small cooler, Scout can roll along sidewalks, delivering packages safely to a customer’s doorstep. Amazon is current conducting a field testing Scout in Snohomish County, Washington, Amazon announced in a blog post today. The Scout is a fully-electric delivery system designed to safely get packages to customers using autonomous delivery devices, according to the blog post, will “roll along the sidewalk at a walking pace” delivering packages during the day, Monday through Friday. Initially, the devices will be accompanied by an Amazon employee.

Snohomish customers will order as normal, using the available delivery options, and deliveries will be made either with the Scout or through one of Amazon’s carriers. Amazon shares have gained 18.4% over the last year while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.49% has lost 8% for the period.

Below is Amazon’s full announcement:

“At Amazon, we continually invest in new technologies to benefit customers. We’ve been hard at work developing a new, fully-electric delivery system – Amazon Scout – designed to safely get packages to customers using autonomous delivery devices. These devices were created by Amazon, are the size of a small cooler, and roll along sidewalks at a walking pace. Starting today, these devices will begin delivering packages to customers in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington.

How will delivery by Amazon Scout work? Customers in Snohomish County order just as they normally would and their Amazon packages will be delivered either by one of our trusted partner carriers or by Amazon Scout. Customers can shop on the Amazon App or amazon.com and enjoy the same delivery options including fast, FREE Same-Day, One-Day and Two-Day shipping for Prime members.

We’re starting with six Amazon Scout devices, delivering packages Monday through Friday, during daylight hours. The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee. We developed Amazon Scout at our research and development lab in Seattle, ensuring the devices can safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path.

We are excited to work with the community of Snohomish County as our initial partner for Amazon Scout. Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers shared the following with us: “We are delighted to welcome Amazon Scout into our community. Similar to Amazon, we are always looking for new ways to better deliver service to our residents. From the latest Amazon innovation to cutting edge technology, Snohomish County is a great place for entrepreneurial creativity.”

We are happy to welcome Amazon Scout to our growing suite of innovative delivery solutions for customers and look forward to taking the learnings from this first neighborhood so Amazon Scout can, over time, provide even more sustainability and convenience to customer deliveries.”

Below is a video of Amazon Scout in action.