每逢購物促銷，或者天氣不好，就有些顧客抱怨快遞送貨又被拖延了。還有些懶癌患者，總在糾結(jié)為啥小區(qū)保安又沒讓快遞員進來。無人技術(shù)終于也瞄準(zhǔn)了“最后一公里”。下次再接到取貨消息時，給你送貨的可能不再是那個熟悉的快遞員，而是一匹“真機小黃馬”。

Along a quiet residential street on the outer edges of Beijing, a yellow and black cube about the size of a small washing machine trundles leisurely to its destination.

在北京郊區(qū)僻靜的居民區(qū)里，一輛黃黑相間的立方形小車正悠閑地駛向目的地。小車大概有一臺小型洗衣機大小。

This "little yellow horse" is an autonomous delivery robot, ferrying daily essentials like drinks, fruit and snacks from the local store to the residents in the Chinese capital. Equipped with a GPS system, cameras and radar, the robots are seen by their creator as the future of logistics in China, where he says one billion packages will eventually be delivered every day.

這匹“真機小黃馬”是一個自主送貨機器人，可以把附近商店的飲料、水果和零食等日常用品配送到北京居民手中。發(fā)明者認(rèn)為，裝有GPS系統(tǒng)、攝像頭和雷達的送貨機器人代表著中國物流的未來。他說，今后中國每天的包裹發(fā)送數(shù)量將達到10億個。

Travelling at a less than overwhelming 3kph - a slow human walk - the robot has room for improvement, said one customer as she removed a packet of nuts from its bowels.

一位顧客從“真機小黃馬”的送貨箱中取出一包堅果時說，這款送貨機器人還有提升空間，它的時速還不到3公里，相當(dāng)于人們慢走的速度。

"The weak point is that it cannot deliver directly to the door like a human," said the customer, who does not live on the ground floor.

這位顧客表示自己不住在一樓，“它的缺點是不能像快遞員那樣送貨上門?！?/p>

"But it's still quite practical. The robot delivers relatively quickly," she said.

她說：“不過還是非常實用。機器人的送貨速度相對較快?！?/p>

The robot takes advantage of Chinese consumers' love of cashless payments and smartphone shopping.

這款機器人利用了中國消費者對無現(xiàn)金購物和智能手機購物的喜愛。

China is the world's biggest online shopping market with more than half of its population making at least one smartphone purchase per month, according to professional services firm PwC. This compares to 14 percent in the rest of the world.

普華永道會計師事務(wù)所稱，中國有全球最大的網(wǎng)購市場。有超過半數(shù)的民眾每月至少用手機購物一次。而世界其他地方只有14%的人每月用手機購物一次以上。

Whether buying electronics or toilet paper, avocados or clothes, Chinese are used to simply tapping a button on their smartphone and getting a home delivery - sometimes several per day.

不管是購買電子設(shè)備還是衛(wèi)生紙、牛油果或衣服，中國人已經(jīng)習(xí)慣于按下智能手機屏幕上的一個按鍵就享受快遞到家服務(wù)，有時一天要下好幾單。

To get a delivery via the "little yellow horse", the customer selects the desired products, taps in the address and pays via their phone.

如果想用“真機小黃馬”取貨，顧客需要選好商品，輸入地址，并通過手機付款。

The supermarket staff place the items in the robot, and the robot bustles off.

超市工作人員將商品放在機器人里，機器人旋即離開。

Liu Zhiyong, founder and CEO of Zhen Robotics, which manufactures the robot, sees a bright future for his yellow creation.

“真機小黃馬”制造商真機智能創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官劉智勇稱，這款送貨機器人前景光明。

"At the moment, there are 100 million packages delivered every day in China. It will be one billion in the future," he says.

他說：“中國目前每天有1億包裹需要投遞。未來將有10億。”

"There will not be enough humans to make the deliveries. We need more and more robots to fill this gap in manpower. And to reduce costs."

他還說：“將來快遞員人手不足。我們需要越來越多的機器人來填補這一人力缺口，降低成本?！?/p>

These costs are especially high in the last kilometre of a delivery, where precision is key and a customised service is required to get the product to the front door.

最后一公里的人力配送成本尤其高，因為把貨物送到顧客家門口的關(guān)鍵是精準(zhǔn)度以及定制服務(wù)。

Weighing 30 kilograms and with a theoretical top speed of 12kph on their six wheels, the robots have four cameras constantly scanning the world around them and a laser tele-detection system allowing them to avoid obstacles.

這款機器人重達30公斤，有6個輪子，理論上的最高時速為12公里，有4個攝像頭，不停地掃描四周，并安裝了激光遠(yuǎn)距離探測系統(tǒng)，以避開障礙物。

But not everyone is convinced the robots are a long-term logistics solution.

但并非所有人都相信送貨機器人是一種長期的物流解決方案。

Shao Zhonglin, former deputy secretary-general of the China Express Association, noted they were useful "over a short range".

中國快遞協(xié)會原副秘書長邵鐘林說，它們在“短距離內(nèi)”是有用處的。

"It's not certain however that they can be a broad solution for the final kilometre of delivery. Because the client still has to come down to get his package," added Mr Shao.

他補充說：“但是不能確定它們能否成為最后一公里配送的廣泛解決方案。因為客戶還是要下樓取包裹。”

"Plus the costs remain quite high: buying and maintaining the robots, operating costs, etc."

“此外，送貨機器人的成本仍然很高：包括購買和維護成本、運營成本等?！?/p>

But Zhen Robotics is convinced the costs will come down over time.

但真機智能公司認(rèn)為，今后這些成本將會下降。

Mr Liu also says the robot will soon be equipped with the necessary technology to operate a lift, meaning it will no longer be confined to ground-floor deliveries.

劉智勇還說，不久之后他們就能給這款機器人配備必須的技術(shù)，讓它能夠搭乘電梯，也就是說，今后不再限于一樓取貨了。

In the meantime, deliveries in China are increasingly being made by autonomous means. In recent months, several firms have received the green light to operate drones, either to deliver directly to the customer or to ferry goods between hubs.

與此同時，自主送快遞在中國越來越普遍。最近幾個月，已有幾家公司獲準(zhǔn)通過無人機送貨，無人機可以直接送貨給客戶，或在配送中心之間運送貨物。

And Mr Liu has a warning for anyone trying to vandalise or steal the yellow robot.

劉智勇還警告了那些想破壞或者偷走送貨機器人的人們。

"With GPS, we are constantly tracking them, cameras are filming and it can sound an alarm," he says.

他說：“機器人安裝了GPS系統(tǒng)，我們一直在跟蹤，攝像頭也一直在拍攝，機器人還會發(fā)出警報?！?/p>

"Anyway, what would a thief do with it? It's not exactly resellable."

“不過，賊偷來又有何用呢？又不能轉(zhuǎn)賣?！?/p>

英文來源：法新社

翻譯&編輯：yaning