Thus far, the design approaches for robots that humans will interact with have included: Humanoid, dog-like, form-follows-function, and even plain ol’ cute. French “droid manufacturer” TwinswHeel, which makes electric urban delivery ‘bots, is leaning into that last one. Their four-wheeled ‘bots look like background characters in Pixar’s Cars.
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Their ciTHy L model, in particular, caught our eye. Designed with lockers that individual customers can unlock with codes, the overall form is a nod to Citroen’s WWII-era Type H delivery van.
The design of the Type H van, in turn, was informed by its production methods, which were directly inspired by the German Luftwaffe’s Junkers Ju 52 airplane. That story is worth a read.
In any case, the quirky-looking ciTHy L is currently undergoing trials in Helsinki, Finland, where it’s been re-named the HeRo (for Helsinki Robot).
“The English-speaking robot will be carrying parcels from Würth Center to worksites in the vicinity. The robot will save customers’ time as it can deliver orders flexibly and punctually to meet sudden needs. In the future, an autonomous robot could even bring lunch to the employees, for example.”
The pilot program is scheduled to be expanded to Thessaloniki, Greece; Valladolid and Barcelona, Spain; Bologna, Italy; and Karlsruhe, Germany. There’s no mention of an expansion into America, so there’s still time for a robotics company here to tie up with Pixar. Disney investors would probably salivate over the branding opportunities.
Source: core77