I was intrigued by the unveiling of AeroVironment, Inc.’ s tiniest spy drone, the nano hummingbird. With a 6.5 inch wingspan, the nano hummingbird robot is the latest in the trend to go smaller and more autonomous:
There are plenty of other interesting examples, like the Italian automated trash-collecting robot and the widespread use of automated equipment for storage and fulfillment in warehouses.
It is my belief that the use of automated equipment for the delivery of mail is all but inevitable. Most, if not all of the technical difficulties have been solved:
Automated mail delivery by robot could be done at night, when there is not traffic, relieving congestion and improving the environment. In FY 2009, USPS spent $9 Billion on delivery labor (just labor, in one year), and a large part of it could be potentially saved if delivery could be automated. One percent of that is $90 Millions.
I think the USPS should spend a little bit of money figuring this out…what do you think?