Piaggio Fast Forward, a Boston-based company that developed the Vespa, has launched a small, cargo-space robot, called Gita, which follows its owner around on the go and can carry up to 40 pounds of their belongings. The company aims to allow people to use the robot to carry their groceries, gym equipment, or any other items. This enables them to walk around hands-free in various places. Interested buyers can purchase the Gita robot at a price of $3,250 and can choose between red, blue and gray colors.
The Gita robot can follow the owner around while carrying up to 40 pounds of their belongings. (Image Credit: Gita)
Gita isn’t autonomous and doesn’t use GPS to follow its owner around, but instead, it uses five cameras that have a 360-degree vision to scan and identify its owner, allowing it to follow them around at speeds of up to 6mph. The company also assures owners that Gita doesn’t record photos or videos. Data isn’t stored anywhere and the data it collects doesn’t leave the visual processing board on the robot, so owners won’t have to worry about being watched. The only type of data that’s sent is the odometry and power use information, which is for warranty and performance purposes when Gita connects to the internet.
The robot can only traverse on hard surfaces, like sidewalks and paths, and won’t be able to follow its owner on rough terrains, like sand, snow, or mud. Owners won’t have to worry about using it in the rain, as it can function normally in that weather, but they will need to wrap their cargo up since the lid isn’t watertight. It can’t climb upstairs either, but it can travel up and down slopes, like ramps, that are at a 16 percent incline.
It also works with an app, which is used to lock/unlock the lid, check up on battery levels, and it can even stream audio through Gita by using Bluetooth. It only has a short battery life of up to four hours and it only takes two hours to fully charge.
One of the downsides of using the Gits in a public setting is that it’s likely going to be tough to keep safe when it’s not with the owner. That’s because if an owner were to separate themselves from the robot by going into a shop, there’d be no way to lock it to anything outside. It’s pretty heavy too, weighing 50 pounds when it’s empty and can be difficult to carry, so one person wouldn’t be able to steal it very easily. However, two people could steal it if it’s left in a public area, unattended.
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