Vayu Robotics Launches On-Road Delivery Robot It leverages modern AI foundation models with lidar-less, and low-cost passive sensors
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In a move to lower the cost of e-commerce deliveries Indian origin co-founder announced the release of on-road delivery 'Vayu Robotics' in America. Vayu leverages modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) foundation models with lidar-less, and low-cost passive sensors. It previously raised USD 12.7 million to develop its model.
Vayu Robotics co-founders Anand Gopalan, Mahesh Krishnamurthi, and Nitish Srivastava claim that the traditional mobile robotics rely on costly lidar sensors and software modules built to do one task at a time, leading to expensive hardware and fragile software unable to handle new scenarios and Vayu robot can help there.
Additionally it claims that its technology leverages a transformer-based mobility foundation model with a powerful passive sensor that, together, eliminates the need for lidar. Also, Vayu operates autonomously without pre-mapping the roads and unloading packages on driveways or porches, carrying up to 100 lbs at under 20mph.
"The unique set of technologies we have developed at Vayu have allowed us to solve problems that have plagued delivery robots over the past decade, and finally create a solution that can actually be deployed at scale and enable the cheap transport of goods everywhere" says Anand Gopalan, CEO, Vayu Robotics.
According to the company it has already signed a substantial commercial agreement with a large e-commerce player to deploy 2500 robots to enable ultra-fast goods delivery, with similar commercial customers in the pipeline. Additionally, the company is also working with a leading global robotics manufacturer to replace lidar sensors with Vayu's sensing technology for other robotic applications.
"At Khosla Ventures, we believe in backing businesses where critical and differentiated technologies can unlock a large market. Vayu is a great example of this where they have deployed novel sensing and their AI foundation models to a robotic challenge that can have immense economic and societal impact," said Kanu Gulati, Partner at Khosla Ventures.
