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Vespa creator is launching this weird cargo-carrying personal robot

Published Jan 31st, 2017 9:12PM EST
personal robot
Image: Piaggio

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Ever wish you had more than two hands? Sometimes carrying all your personal crap around every day is just too much for a person to put up with, or at least that’s the feeling that Piaggio is going for with its new cargo bot called Gita. Gita is a big round ball with wheels designed to follow you wherever you need to go, and carry all your stuff for you while you get there.

Piaggio — which is best known for its Vespa brand motor scooters made for city-dwellers — designed the Gita to be what is essentially a robotic helping hand. It carries things inside a large central compartment that snaps shut with a lid that displays its battery charge and other notifications. The bot has built-in LEDs that help it remain visible in the dark for both the user and anyone else nearby.

Of course, actually getting your stuff to wherever you’re headed is Gita’s primary goal, and it’s designed to follow your walking speed no matter what it is. It can skip along slowly or crank things up if you’re a fast walker, and won’t run you over if you come to a stop. Additionally, the bot can be commanded to navigate autonomously, making it an option for delivery companies or warehouse workers sending various items back and forth.

Piaggio has been teasing the Gita for a while now, and it plans to officially “launch” the robot on February 2nd in Boston, though whether that means it’ll actually be selling it immediately or simply announcing its future release isn’t immediately clear.