Every once in a while from the vantage point of my upstairs home office, I’ll notice Dax rolling on down the sidewalk on his way to making a delivery. These days, Nova Dynamics has a team of Dax robots operating within the city.
Dax has attracted media attention beyond my own efforts, most recently on KOIN, a CBS affiliate out of Portland. The last time I had written about Dax, he was limited to a certain area of Philomath but now, he can go “almost anywhere” within the city limits.
The TV segment shows KOIN reporter Melody Gonzales coming into town from the east and taking the one-way exit off Main Street onto College.
“Since COVID-19 hit, a small group of Daxes have been working directly with a handful of restaurants in Philomath to offer free, contactless delivery to customers,” Gonzales reported.
The segment takes viewers to La Rockita, the local restaurant that’s been delivering food via Dax since well before the pandemic.
“He’s a little WALL-E just cruising around the streets of Philomath,” La Rockita owner Elsa Parmelee said during an interview. “We’ll send him out a couple of times a day so it’s pretty neat.”
Kevin Sullivan of Nova Dynamics was interviewed for the piece as well.
“Lifting the mood is where he really shines,” Sullivan said while video played of a child having fun seeing Dax. “Just seeing him drive around Philomath has been encouraging to everyone around.”
The story did mention something I had not heard — that Dax may soon include museum tour security and perhaps even mow lawns.
“He’s an all-around urban robot and his mission in life is to generally make life easier for people.”
To watch the segment, follow this link.
(Daily Scoop is a blog published by the Philomath News. This blog often contains news items but also could include opinions of Brad Fuqua, publisher/editor).