Robot delivery drones are just around the corner - Austin Monitor

City-sanctioned land drones could be hitting a sidewalk near you by February 2018. That was the report Austin Transportation Department Chief of Staff Karla Taylor gave to the Urban Transportation Commission on Tuesday evening. Her briefing was an update on the development of a pilot program that would allow private companies to deploy electric-powered personal delivery robots on sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian ways. City Council authorized the pilot through a resolution the members passed in August. "(Council members) see it as a disruptive or emerging technology that's coming whether or not we want to pilot it," Taylor told the UTC.