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Amazon files US patent for robotic delivery vehicles

Amazon.com Inc. on Jan. 25 submitted a patent application to the U.S. Patent Trademark Office for autonomous ground vehicles, or AGVs, that can retrieve parcels from delivery trucks and transport them inside or outside a recipient's residence even when the homeowner is away.

The technology will use imaging and proximity sensors and GPS to navigate and open access barriers such as doors and gates. It may also be installed with a transmitter device that can communicate with a garage door opener signal to gain access to garages, according to the patent application.

Amazon said the vehicle may be built with a robotic arm that can place items in a storage compartment and take them out when delivering to a location. While traveling, the storage compartment may be locked and an access code may be given to the recipient to unlock it.

Further, Amazon said the AGVs may be owned by individual users or a group of users in an apartment building or neighborhood.

The e-commerce giant already launched an in-home delivery service called Amazon Key in October 2017 and an intelligent indoor security camera that supports Amazon Key the month after. It made its first foray into autonomous delivery with a drone delivery in the U.K. in December 2016.