Building The Next Generation of Delivery Robots
Our first delivery robots appeared on the streets nearly two years ago, in November 2019. Since then, we have made tens of thousands of deliveries in cities around the world. During freezing winters and sweltering summers, Yandex delivery robots have zoomed over deserted sidewalks during lockdowns and navigated through crowded rush hours in city centers. These experiences are how we refine the technology, teaching us what will make the bots even better.
Our second generation of robots was launched in early 2021, and since then, we have gained even more vital experience informing us what else can be improved. Now, as we unveil the third generation of Yandex delivery bots, we thought we’d share an insider’s look at the process, from concept development to final production.
The next generation
So, how does the third generation differ from the second?
- A sleek new design boasts increased robot capacity and a simpler maintenance process.
- Each of our robots is now also equipped with a removable battery, so it doesn’t need to spend time charging during the day. Replacing the battery takes no more than a minute, meaning the robots can run almost nonstop.
- We have also repositioned the sensors, moving the lidar up front, and adding more cameras, to give our robots a more detailed overview of their surroundings. As the technology matures, our robots find themselves navigating increasingly difficult conditions, sometimes crossing wide roadways. Now there is a camera in front under the lidar. It has a long focal length, giving the robot a better view of traffic lights on the other side of wide roads.
- We have also made the suspension softer, making it easier for the robots to traverse challenging terrain, such as high curbs.
So, how did we get here? Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at the development process for our next generation of robots.
Creating a concept
Each iteration begins with the robot team and their vision for a better bot. They collect feedback from our product team, who are best placed to see what can be changed or improved, as well as our engineering and design teams.
For example, while envisioning the third generation, the product team requested a bigger storage compartment, as the robots have begun delivering groceries from local stores. On the ground experience has demonstrated that capacity is a very important issue, so we remodeled our robot into a squarer shape. This let us expand storage space, without increasing the robot’s size.
Not only do the robots need to hold a lot, but they need to maintain their welcoming and friendly appearance, as they are still a fairly new entity on our streets. To enhance this friendly effect, the designer added LED “eyes” to the front, which also function as headlights.
Once all teams have given their feedback and plans for the new robots have been developed, our designer unveils the preliminary concept, and engineers use this concept to create a highly detailed 3D project of the robot. This initial design stage demonstrates how well the new frame supports our vision for the new robot’s look and features. During this process, we may find that small tweaks result in the better placement of components or a simpler maintenance process. If this is the case, the designer adjusts the concept, and the engineers redo the design in view of the changes.
After several iterations, the final design for the new robot is ready. Now, we make the individual components.
Production and testing of individual parts
We develop most of the components for the robots ourselves, including cameras, parking sensors, circuit boards, housings, gears, tires and other accessories. Every component we develop undergoes rigorous testing before going into production.
Some new solutions are tested on the previous generation of robots, so we can evaluate new features in real conditions even before the first prototype of the new robot is ready. For example, we tested the third-generation suspension on our second-generation robots. The test was so successful that we upgraded the suspension on our second generation of robots, as well.
However, most of the testing at this stage happens at various test benches. For example, before operating under city conditions, we test the reliability of the suspension on a shaker. This testing is equivalent to driving the robot over 350 kilometers or operating the robot for about 2 weeks. The contact assembly is another accessory tested at test benches. For the third-generation robots, we inserted and removed all contacts 2,000 times. The test is equivalent to operating a robot for several years. There was no loss of contacts quality, which tells us the contact assembly is very reliable. The automatic lid was also tested at a test bench, where it was opened and closed 2,200 times, roughly equal to a robot operating for a year. Now we know the robots’ lids will hold up between major scheduled maintenance.
Some components and assemblies, such as circuit boards and cameras, undergo additional testing in a temperature chamber, showing us how the system operates in temperatures over a 100-degree range, from -40 to 60 degrees Celsius (from -40 to 140 Fahrenheit). To test against other forms of weather, we also do impermeability testing. Our experience has shown that even coating the circuit boards with a lacquer doesn’t guarantee sufficient sealing when faced with severe weather conditions. That’s why we enclose all the circuit boards in the robot under special sealed covers and check their integrity and reliability at our test benches.
When all the components have been tested, we assemble the first prototype.
On-site testing
Once a prototype for the new generation robot is ready, it’s sent to our test site. At first, it simply goes around in circles so that we can ensure the reliability of the assembly and check whether any of the contacts come loose. A day of continuous operation is usually enough to check all the contacts. Once assembled, all our robots undergo this sort of reliability testing.
Next, the robots move on to a special obstacle course that includes curbs, scattered skateboards, sharp turns, and other challenges that the robot will face under real conditions. We constantly change the configuration of the obstacle course to test the robots in ever more challenging situations.
In addition, the robots can encounter various weather conditions at the test site. This time, the testing of the new generation of robots took place in summer, allowing us to test the robots in hot conditions of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95F). However, we also wanted to test the performance of the new suspension in snow. To do this, we created a special area with artificial snow, where we compared the suspensions of the different generations. During the testing process, the new suspension demonstrated the same or better performance in terms of its manoeuvrability. This is great news, as we expect to see a lot of snow again this winter.
City testing
After undergoing testing at the test site, the robot moves on to the city, where it initially makes virtual deliveries. This tests the reliability of all the components and helps us evaluate the performance of the new sensors in difficult urban environments, generating important additional datasets. Over the course of a week, the robot carries out virtual orders, and this is when we begin large-scale assembly.
The first robots of the new generation robots are already making deliveries in Moscow, demonstrating the accomplishment of all our technical and product-related objectives. It’s also been great to see that people are genuinely excited when they encounter one of the new robots on the streets. We expect hundred of this new model to be added to our fleet this year, and our partners in various cities and countries are already waiting for them. At first, the new robots will work alongside the second-generation robots, but eventually, the third generation will be the only Yandex delivery robots rolling down the streets.
