News

This robot aims to revolutionalize carrying items

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Forget backpacks, handbags or boxes - a new invention made in Boston promises to change how humans carry and transport things.

Called Gita, which is pronounced jeet-ah, the round robot can follow a human or move in a mapped environment and learns as it navigates.

Piaggio Fast Forward designed and launched the Gita, which is 26 inches tall, has a cargo carrying capacity of 40 POUNDS, and a maximum speed of 22 mph. The robot has a zero turning radius and is designed to help carry things instead of a truck or automobile.

Piaggio Fast Forward's goal is to help people walk, run and skate without the need of backpacks or a car.

"Think about how much more freely you would be able to move from one point to another if lugging cumbersome items was removed from the equation," said CEO Jeffrey Schnapp.

The Gita can also go off "on missions" while its owners continue doing something else, according to Schnapp.

The Gita will be debuting Thursday in Cambridge; it is not for sale to the general public yet.