San Francisco Startup Touts Elevator-Friendly Delivery Robots

In its recent launch video, 3E8 Robotics, a San Francisco-based startup, shows how an autonomous delivery robot called Elly efficiently uses elevators — including recognizing and punching buttons — without human help or building modifications, Imprint, the student magazine for the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, reports. Waterloo engineering alumni David Feldt and Sajeel Purewal co-founded 3E8, which is building autonomous delivery robots for condominiums, hotels and hospitals — places the young entrepreneurs feel could benefit greatly from the technology. Feldt told Imprint there are very few autonomous robots in North America that can reliably use elevators the same way humans do. "Solving that problem is key to making robots actually useful in real indoor spaces," he said. The team is currently working with angel investors and building trust with condos and hotels to secure agreements to pilot the technology.