Amazon halts live tests of the Scout delivery robots

Amazon.com Inc. will stop testing the “Amazon Scout” delivery robot, according to a company spokesperson’s emailed statement. The statement was released on Thursday after the company realized that the program did not fully meet its requirements.

Amazon spokesperson Alice Carroll said the company is currently scaling back or "reorienting" the program and will work with engaged employees to match them with other open positions within the organization, adding that the company does not intend to abandon the project entirely.

Amazon originally began testing the Scout delivery robot in Washington State in 2019. Subsequently, testing was also carried out in Southern California, Georgia, and Tennessee. The Scout delivery robot is about the size of a cooler and it can be moved at an average walking speed.