Boston Dynamics just gave its yellow four-legged Spot robot a new assignment that still stumps most machines. Spot now hauls packages from a delivery van and sets them carefully on doorsteps, closing the short but costly stretch that carriers call the porch gap. Spot emerges from the back of a delivery van. A driver places two ordinary-looking boxes on a conveyor belt attached to Spot’s back. Spot then moves across the neighborhood, stepping over obstacles, ascending porch stairs as needed, and lowering its body so that the boxes slip off smoothly. It moves on to the next location, completes all deliveries, and then returns to the van to pick up the next load. The final stretch, from the curb to the porch, is where all of the expenditures are incurred; more than half of it is due to reaching the last mile of the supply chain. US airlines alone spend around $90 billion per year on delivering products to the correct door. - LEGO SET FOR ADULTS – The WALL-E and EVE (43279) building set offers adults 18 years old and up an immersive construction challenge featuring... - 4 DISNEY PIXAR CHARACTERS – Builders can create iconic robots WALL-E, EVE, M-O and Hal from the hit movie—each with authentic functionality like... - MINDFUL BUILDING EXPERIENCE – This detailed construction set lets builders practice advanced construction techniques for an immersive and relaxing... Currently, drivers are transporting every box manually, frequently down lengthy driveways or up staircases, which slows down the entire process and exhausts them. Spot is carrying two bundles, each measuring 16 by 12 by 10 inches. That is a usual size for packages that fill a typical van, accounting for at least 60% of the total. Paige Miller, Spot’s senior staff product manager, believes that for every three parcels