Sidewalk robots are already busy delivering groceries

ALTHOUGH IT ISIDID a business not many are aware of, sidewalk robots are set to become an industry with annual sales of $1bn within a decade, reckons TechEx, a British firm of analysts. These four- or six-wheeled autonomous machines, usually the size of a suitcase, are already delivering groceries and other goods in America, China and Europe.That puts them ahead of many driverless cars, vans and lorries being developed. Those bigger vehicles are held back not by technology but regulation, says Zehao Li of TechEx. This means having a “safety driver” on board ready to take over if there is a problem, which is hardly labour-saving.