Transportation Robots · Part of The Humanoid Group
Autonomous Transport News, October 2026
Robotaxi services, campus delivery robots, drones and driverless freight are all expanding at once. These are the numbers and moves that matter if you run or plan an autonomous fleet.
Robot.com signs seven-year deal with Sodexo to expand campus delivery robots
· Partnership
Robot.com, the company founded as Kiwibot in 2017, signed a seven-year commercial agreement with Sodexo, extending a partnership that began in 2021 across Sodexo-run college campuses in North America. The company says it has deployed more than 500 R-Kiwi delivery robots and completed 2.4 million tasks on campuses and city sidewalks.
Why it matters: Campuses remain the proving ground for sidewalk robots: defined areas, steady demand and food-service partners. Multi-year contracts show operators now treat robot delivery as a standing service rather than a trial.
Waymo opens robotaxi rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, reaching 14 US cities
· Deployment
Waymo started offering its robotaxi service to the public in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, inviting riders on a rolling basis and ramping up access slowly, which extends its commercial operations to 14 US cities. Its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles and the new Ojai minivan now totals more than 4,000 vehicles.
Why it matters: Each new city opens to invited riders before wider access. Any autonomous service, from shuttles to delivery vans, should plan the same staged rollout and agree it with local officials early.
Gatik raises $200M after 85,000 driverless middle-mile deliveries
· Funding
Gatik raised $200 million in Series D funding led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies to expand its autonomous box trucks on short regional routes between distribution centers and stores. The company says it has completed 85,000 fully driverless orders and runs dozens of driverless trucks for customers including PepsiCo, Kroger and Tyson Foods.
Why it matters: Short, repeated runs between a warehouse and its stores are where driverless freight is working first. Shippers with fixed daily routes between a few sites are best placed to test it soon.
Amazon plans Prime Air drone delivery for nearly 500 US cities and towns
· Deployment
Amazon said it plans to expand Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of 2026, a sixfold increase on its current footprint across seven states. The drones carry items of 5 pounds or less, and Amazon has also launched the service in Darlington, its first location outside the US.
Why it matters: Drone delivery is moving from a handful of test towns to regional networks. Retailers and clinics weighing drones should map landing spots, airspace limits and typical parcel weights now.
Einride and DAF Trucks will build autonomous driving into DAF electric trucks
· Partnership
Swedish autonomous freight company Einride partnered with Dutch truck maker DAF Trucks to integrate its autonomous driving system with DAF's premium vehicle platform for Level 4 electric freight. Initial tests and interface validation take place in 2026, with integration and commissioning of Einride's software planned for 2027, working with Dutch research institute TNO.
Why it matters: Autonomy is moving from add-on kits to trucks engineered with established vehicle makers. For fleet buyers, that can bring the maker's service network, warranty and parts supply along with the driving system.
ABB launches the F712 autonomous forklift with camera-based navigation
· Launch
ABB Robotics launched the Flexley Stack F712, an autonomous forklift that lifts loads of up to 2,000 kg to 8.5 meters and navigates with visual SLAM instead of reflectors or markers, to about 10 mm accuracy. It supports the VDA 5050 interoperability standard and joins ABB's tugger and mover models for indoor pallet and line-side transport.
Why it matters: Marker-free navigation cuts the building work that used to come with driverless forklifts, and VDA 5050 lets them share traffic control with other makers' vehicles. Fleet View on The Humanoid Group shows mixed fleets side by side.