Postmates brought a challenge that we couldn’t pass — creating a solution for the “last mile” delivery using a robot as the courier. Meet Postmate’s Serve.
Working closely with the Postmates-X team we developed new experiences and interactions that work towards overcoming the stigma around robots today and delivering goods more efficiently.
Shopping carts have been such an iconic symbol in checkouts, grocery stores, delivery, and even SF streets, we asked ourselves “Why NOT design it to look a bit familiar?”
"If there's ever going to be an emoji for a rover on the sidewalk, it better look like Serve." — Bastian Lehmann, Founder & CEO, Postmates
With robots like Starship and Kiwi working to tackle similar issues, we wanted to focused on giving it a bit of personality through it’s physical features as well as the way it interacts with individuals on the street. More like a Wall-E, less like an Eve.
Serve needed to cohabitant with adults, kids, and dogs, so we worked hard to develop a personality that was a bit quirky and still lovable. We wanted to prevent “human-on-robot crime” and get people to help Serve if it ever got stuck or was in trouble.
Imagine if a community has their very own ‘Neighborhood Robot”. There would be more community support around making sure it’s gets around safely. Our vision is to make Serve be customizable by local artists.