US-based Piaggio Fast Forward, a new branch of the Italian company that makes Vespa scooters, has launched the Piaggio Gita (JEE’-tah) Cargo-Bot around a month ago. Now, it announced that the robot is on sale this holiday season.
Piaggio Gita is a small spherical robot that can be considered smart mobile baggage – it carries up to 40 lb (18 kg) of your belongings. The robot is not fully autonomous; it can automatically follow the owner, via visual sensors.
Piaggio has geared Gita Cargo-Bot for use by people who go shopping or have to bring gym equipment, or even children’s toys and other things. Thanks to Gita, you can walk quietly with hands-free, or have room to carry more.
Since the first Gita prototype was shown to the press back in 2017, the creators of the Vespa have added new features to this wheeled cargo robot.
How it works? Simple, just press the power button and Gita is ready for action. It follows its owner, who precedes him as a faithful helper. The robot can reach the top speed of about 10 km/h (6 mph) – the previous top speed was up to 35 km/h (22 mph).
The Gita is equipped with Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) technology, which will keep a distance behind the owner, or automatically map the area, identify itineraries and travel on its own. The Cargo-Bot has a lid at the top, with an internal storage compartment and the ability to carry up to 18 kg. If you want to store more, Piaggio motorbike provides users with another version of the Gita called Kilo with twice the size, containing up to 90kg of cargo.
Piaggio wants to turn the Gita robot into an assistant for maintenance workers, gardeners, or anyone who needs to carry heavy tools. However, the robot is best on the solid surfaces only, such as roads and floors, not in any sort of rough terrains, like sand, snow, or mud. Also, it cannot climb stairs, but the company says it can move up and down inclines of up to 16%.
This cargo-carrying robot weighs 50 lb (22.7 kg). With the trusty smartphone, you can open or close the top box that Gita brings with you, check the status of the charge, and send some songs via Bluetooth. Gita runs for 4 hours before discharging and returns to 100% with a 90-minute recharge.
It costs US$3,250 and comes in 3 colors (red, gray, and blue) and is on sale now.
