The Human-Operated Sidewalk Robots (With Added Smiles) - Coco CEO, Zach Rash

Residents of US cities such as Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, are getting used to seeing brightly coloured delivery robots on the  sidewalks. They're run by Coco, a last-mile delivery service that has developed remotely operated vehicles. The company launched in the Los Angeles area in 2020.

Auto Futures recently caught up with Zach Rash, Coco's CEO and Co-founder.

"We had watched the early robot delivery companies spending years and billions of dollars on autonomy R&D without any major deployments and wondered why we weren’t seeing robot delivery at scale," says Rash.

"We decided to focus on building the infrastructure for piloted robot delivery so we could deliver immediate value to merchants and customers, while using our growing fleet to train and improve our autopilot system. This approach allows profitable fleet scaling and accelerates product development through real-world learnings," he adds.

Coco's delivery bots feature multiple cameras and sensors to assist remote pilots in safely navigating around traffic and obstructions. 

"In urban areas, often 60% or more of a merchant’s delivery volume is to customers within a two mile radius of their location. There is no reason to have these orders delivered by car. Coco can help cities reduce traffic and vehicle emissions, while simultaneously providing more cost-effective and reliable delivery experience for merchants and their customers."

The company's growth into new US markets is supported by a Series A funding round of $56 million, which was announced in February, 2022.  

Video Game Experience (Comes In Handy)

Coco's partially autonomous service boasts a 30% decrease in time-to-customer and an on-time delivery rate of 97%. 

"Remotely-piloted deliveries are making delivery more cost effective, reliable and sustainable today. We currently use AI technology to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our service, but there’s no need to wait for full self-driving before delivering a useful product. Other delivery robot companies chose to focus on autonomy and only operate in controlled spaces with small fleets, we’re already doing delivery at scale across multiple cities," explains Rash. 

Many of the company's first pilots were University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) students with video game experience.

"The focus and hand-eye coordination used in video games is pretty similar to what is required of our pilots.  All of our pilots go through over 30 hours of training before starting their first delivery. This training ensures that they’re safe and respectful of all other users of the sidewalk. Our pilots are also trained to yield to all other sidewalk users, even pets."

Rash says that Coco's delivery service has received overwhelmingly positive reponses from customers.

"People are incredibly frustrated with traditional delivery – it’s expensive, unreliable, and leads to unnecessary traffic and pollution. Once customers and merchants try Coco, they’re hooked and we become integral to their business. Even non-customers get super excited to see us. The devices move at comfortable speeds and are not intimidating the way a scooter riders can be on the sidewalk. A Coco feels like another pedestrian or friendly dog walking along with you on the sidewalk."

"Just look at peoples’ faces as they see Cocos go by and you’re bound to see smiles," he adds.

Multiple Cocos, Just One Pilot

Coco upgraded its delivery bots with the help of Segway. Compared to the previous model, the COCO 1 offers a number of added features including a more efficient drivetrain and a larger battery capacity that allows for an increased delivery radius of up to three miles.

"We were thrilled to partner with Segway in the design of our Coco 1 vehicle base and to leverage their deep experience with safe and reliable vehicle design in the micro-mobility space," says Rash.

Looking ahead, the company will not look to go fully autonomous. 

"Full autonomy isn’t necessary for useful robot delivery. This is a service that can be commercially viable now and is already bringing cost savings and better service to merchants and customers.  As we continue to roll out partial autonomy features this will only improve the service. In the near term, partial autonomy will allow multiple Cocos to be controlled by a single pilot. The pilot will only need to step in when a potential challenge presents itself."

Finally we asked Rash what the last-mile delivery sector will look like by 2030.

"By 2030, last-mile deliveries will no longer be by car, and will instead be carried by electric, light-weight vehicles like our Cocos," he predicts.

"As our self-driving AI improves, the cost will drop below 1/10 the current cost and we’ll see many new verticals begin to deliver on-demand. At this price point, delivery will become the most affordable way to grow a retail business, requiring less real estate, lower store overhead, and access to more customers through digital channels. I think this will force in-store retail/dining to be more experiential and social, while delivery conveniently supports all the essentials and takeout dining." 

"Our communities will benefit from the reduction in traffic and space reserved for parking, and the convenience of delivery at an accessible everyday price," concludes Rash.