Postmates increase teleoperator

Postmates, an on-demand delivery startup, partnered with Phantom Auto, an autonomous vehicle teleoperation company in 2019. Teleoperation technology is a cooperative technology that complements the defects of humans and robots by combining robot autonomy and human remote control.

Postmates uses the Phantom Auto software development kit to remotely monitor, guide, and operate a box-type autonomous delivery robot called Serve. For Phantom Auto, the partnership between the two companies can be said to be part of an effort to expand the logistics business for warehouses and cargo beyond the application of autonomous robot taxis.

Postmates introduced telecommuting for engineering employees before Corona 19, but teleoperators still had to go to the company’s operation center. However, orders were issued in San Francisco and Los Angeles to give home orders by mid-March. These cities are also markets where Postmates operate autonomous delivery robots. Postmates turned teleoperators into telecommuting.

Postsmates planned to expand the supply of subs, resulting in the need for more tele operators. The operator is required for the sub-robot to travel safely between destinations. Using Phantom Auto software, postmates operators monitor robots thousands of kilometers away. Managers intervene when they need help in guiding the robot to a distance of 4.5m from the customer from the start of a restaurant, or helping the robot cross a crowded road.

Robot guides support using several methods. To help the robot make the right choice, simple motions can be entered into the system, or a handheld remote control can be used to change the robot direction and accelerate/decel in real time.

Instead of having people go to work in the operation center, Postmates installed workstations at home under the support of Phantom Auto, and upgraded the Internet environment and developed new standard operating procedures to allow administrators to connect and monitor more efficiently. Thanks to these efforts, Postmates is able to hire workers living far from its headquarters or even people with disabilities who have difficulty attending work at home.

Postmates increased the number of teleoperators by 30% after the order to stay at home in San Francisco on March 17th. The company is explaining that the more robots used, the more teleoperators needed will increase.