bg
News
10:23, 04 April 2026
views
15

Humanoid Delivery Robot Set to Hit Russian City Streets

The Arkus robot can navigate urban environments and deliver orders directly to customers.

Photo: iStock

Developers have unveiled a working prototype of Russia’s first humanoid delivery robot at a robotics festival held at the Higher School of Economics.

The robot, named Arkus, can move autonomously through the city, interact with delivery platforms and hand off orders either to parcel lockers or directly to customers. It is part of a broader ecosystem that also includes robotic service hubs and a network of automated lockers.

Faster Delivery Without Scooters

According to its developer, Efko, the new model could significantly reduce delivery times and costs. Customers will gain access to a hypermarket range of more than 20,000 items, with deliveries expected within an hour. The company estimates that delivery costs could be reduced by up to four times.

“Within a month, we will begin testing delivery models with the robot at the Biryuch research center in the Belgorod region, where we have a base for simulating a full urban logistics chain involving autonomous drones and robots. We expect to see it on city streets in test mode later this year,” said Andrey Blokhin, director of IT innovation at Efko. Full-scale trials in Moscow are also scheduled for this year.

Near-Term Deployment

Rostislav Kovalevsky, director of innovation at Efko and head of the Institute of Robotics Systems at the Higher School of Economics, believes that the widespread adoption of autonomous systems is only a matter of time.

“The Institute was created to provide conceptual leadership in autonomous systems and to develop applications that fundamentally change people’s lives. A comprehensive model of autonomous urban logistics is exactly such a project: robots take over routine tasks, allowing people to focus on more complex and meaningful activities and making everyday life more convenient. The large-scale deployment of autonomous systems, supporting infrastructure and digital platforms is a matter of the near future. Even today, robots can solve certain tasks quickly, efficiently and at low cost, and within the next five years their capabilities will grow significantly,” Kovalevsky said.

like
heart
fun
wow
sad
angry
Latest news
Important
Recommended
previous
next