COVID-19 : Self-Driving ‘Hercules’ Robot Disinfects Streets and Makes Grocery Runs in China

 

During the COVID-19 outbreak, China has been taking innovative measures in ensuring the safety of its citizens given the severity of the Coronavirus. 

Shenzhen Unity-Drive Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (UDI), a leader in the autonomous driving technology, has launched small fleets of self-driving robots to disinfect the streets and deliver groceries and supplies.

For the past two months, in 16 communities in Zibo, Suzhou, and Shenzhen in eastern China, these self-driving vans have provided a lot of support. They have also limited its citizens’ exposure, especially around hospitals where meals were delivered to workers.

The impressive robot is called the Hercules. It comes equipped with cameras and deep-learning algorithms that guide and enable it to drive itself. It also has LiDars, (Light Detection and Ranging), which is is a surveying method that measures the distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor.

The Hercules fleets have reportedly made 2,500 trips (and counting) combined.