Uncrewed Systems Technology 043 l Auve Tech Iseauto taxi l Charging focus l Advanced Navigation Hydrus l UGVs insight l MVVS 116 l Windracers ULTRA l CES 2022 show report l ECUs focus I Distant Imagery

63 UGVs | Insight roller brush, squeegee and removable dust vacuum that allows it to adapt to various floor types, hard floors and soft carpet among them. It also comes with multiple shell options to match different settings (exact specifications are not yet published) with a 10.1 in touchscreen and support for custom operating panel heights and angles. Pudu Robotics has also designed the Afra C1 to connect with various IoT devices, including building elevators and e-gates, in order to interface with control systems and upper-layer software. In addition to the Afra C1, Pudu Robotics showcased its other commercial service robots. These included its BellaBot premium food delivery robot, which features 3D obstacle avoidance, a custom Lidar sensor and V-SLAM positioning and navigation. Also on display was Pudu’s KettyBot delivery and reception robot, which features a display interface for adverts, customer welcome and guiding, AI voice interaction, and food delivery functions. Meanwhile, small UGVs specialising in takeaway and grocery logistics have gained considerable popularity among customers and investors over the past few years, with companies such as Starship Technologies (as featured in UST 37, April/May 2021) making headway around the world in last-mile food deliveries across a variety of locations. US-based Ottonomy is the latest company to unveil a solution for this market, with its autonomous Ottobot. It is aimed at restaurant and retail industries, in indoor as well as outdoor environments. The company has notably announced partnerships with Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and restaurant automation technology company Presto to launch autonomous delivery services in the former using the latter’s platform, which includes computer vision, speech recognition, AI, tabletop tablets and server tablets. Resembling shopping trolleys with 360 º Lidars atop, the Ottobots function by creating a digital map of the serviceable area, and localise themselves within that map. Their locations are updated in real time on the map as they navigate autonomously to deliver the orders. Ottonomy’s proprietary contextual mobility navigation software is key to the Ottobots being able to navigate through crowded and unpredictable environments such as airport terminals. Roadside groceries For supplying larger quantities of groceries to people’s homes, Silicon Valley-based Udelv has unveiled its Transporter autonomous delivery vehicle, developed in partnership with Israel-based self-driving car and ADAS company Mobileye. This all-electric delivery vehicle integrates a proprietary, self-contained, hot-swappable modular cargo pod called the uPod, which can carry up to 2000 lb (907 kg) of goods. It is designed to make up to 80 stops per cycle (assuming normal highway speeds), and cover ranges between 160 and 300 miles (about 257-483 km) per run, depending on the battery pack selected. Scheduling, tracking and retrieval of deliveries is planned and monitored through Udelv’s mobile apps. Since 2018, Udelv has completed more than 20,000 deliveries for merchants in California, Arizona and Texas, and aims to have 50,000 units of the Transporter on public roads by 2028, with the first commercial deployments scheduled for 2023. In addition to groceries, it will also be available for delivering auto parts, electronics and medical supplies for B2B and B2C applications. Unmanned Systems Technology | April/May 2022 The Transporter, from Udelv, will provide mobile grocery and retail services while running on a 160 kWh battery and the company’s proprietary uECU (Courtesy of Udelv)