According to calculations by the Institute of Robotics Systems of the HSE University, delivery by a person costs many times more. For example, transporting a package weighing 3 kg over a distance of 1 km by courier costs about 132 rubles, while a robot could handle it for only 23 rubles.
In real-world scenarios, such as grocery delivery, orders are first collected not in a regular store, but in a special warehouse — a darkstore. This warehouse is closed to customers. Orders are quickly collected here and transferred for delivery.
And here the difference becomes even more noticeable: delivery from such a warehouse by a person costs about 303 rubles, by drones — about 250, and by anthropomorphic robots — already 142 rubles.
The reason is simple: the robot does not receive a salary, does not get tired, and can work around the clock. Already now, maintaining robots costs 49–66% less than the salary of couriers.
At the same time, the robots themselves are not cheap — about 1.8 million rubles per one. Moreover, almost half of this amount goes to "hands." But with a large flow of orders, these investments can pay off.
The delivery market continues to grow: both the number of orders and the total turnover are increasing over the year. But there are also problems — robots are still bad at coping with the real conditions of the city: snow, bad roads, vandalism, and unpredictable behavior of people.
Therefore, the market is now divided. Rovers and drones are better suited for streets, and humanoid robots are more useful in closed spaces — for example, in residential complexes, business centers, or warehouses.
It is there that they can unlock their potential: work without breaks and gradually replace people in routine tasks.
But there will be no mass transition yet. It all depends on safety — if robots start creating risks, trust in them will quickly disappear.