Scooter-maker Piaggio has unveiled the successor to its cargo-carrying robot Gita, dubbed the Gitamini. Made by its subsidiary Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), the compact robot is built to carry up to around 9kg and will follow you around as you walk about, which is great for buying groceries or going on a shopping spree.

It runs on two large wheels and has a storage compartment with a volume of 990 cubic inches, which PFF claims to be enough to fit five days’ worth of groceries, half of the original Gita’s capacity. It weighs 12.7kg and because of its smaller size, it can last up to seven hours of continuous travel or roughly 34km, as opposed to its larger counterpart’s four hours of use.

Gitamini has Smart Sight which uses a combination of cameras and a radar sensor to navigate and follow its user. To pair with the robot, you just need to stand in front of it and tap a button, and it’ll recognise you through the cameras and start following you like a loyal pet. Gitamini can self-balance and brakes or adjusts its speed based on the person it’s tracking.

While the trunk can be locked, there’s not much to prevent strangers from stealing it out in the open. However, PFF’s CEO Greg Lynn told The Verge, “a stolen Gita isn’t of much use to anyone as it uses a secure connection to a phone to be unlocked, updated, and used.”

As for how much the Gitamini costs, this robotic errand boy on wheels retails for USD$1850 (~RM7746) and will be available from 15 October. As part of the miniature robot’s launch, the original Gita is getting a USD$300 price slash to USD$2950 (~RM12353). Aside from the extra storage, the heftier Gita also has a removable bin and has Bluetooth speakers for music streaming. At the time of writing, there is no word on local availability.

(Source: PFF, The Verge)