Ford is partnering with the start-up Agility Robotics to see how a two-legged robot and self-driving vehicles can work together.
The robot, named Digit, would be used to carry out the final step of getting your delivery from a car to your front door.
Digit is a two-legged robot that looks and walks like a human. It's built out of lightweight material and capable of lifting packages that weight up to 40 pounds. Digit can go up and down stairs, walk through uneven terrain and react to things, like being bumped without losing balance and falling over.
Digit can also tightly fold itself up in the back of a self-driving vehicle until it's called into action. Once a self-driving car arrives at its destination, Digit can be deployed to grab a package from the vehicle and carry out the final step in the delivery process.
If Digit encounters an unexpected obstacle, it can send an image back to the vehicle and have the vehicle configure a solution.
Ford is currently testing Digit in Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.
