Yandex to ramp up delivery robot output to 1,500 per month for major Russian cities

Yandex plans to produce 1,500 delivery robots per month. The company's head of robot delivery, Marat Mavlyutov, said the in-house factory currently builds 30 rovers daily, and the entire output will be sent to Russian cities with populations over one million to launch the service there.

The plant has been operating since last year. Mavlyutov also noted that engineers are working on ways to improve the robots' performance in winter conditions. Options with larger wheels and tracks were considered, but both proved too expensive and power-hungry. Still, a solution that will help rovers handle snowdrifts more confidently is expected by the coming winter.

The company is also exploring service classes similar to taxi tiers. Under such a system, an economy option would involve picking up an order from a rover at the building entrance, while hand delivery by a courier would cost more.

Development of delivery robots began in 2019, and three generations of devices have been produced so far. The fourth generation is scheduled before the end of 2027. Robot delivery currently operates in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod, with Tyumen and Voronezh joining by the end of summer.