The autonomous delivery robot market is on track to grow from $1.33 billion in 2026 to $3.27 billion in 2031, Modor Intelligence predicts. Many of the demand-side drivers are obvious, such as the convenience of having food and medicine delivered, especially for people with mobility issues and seniors who no longer drive.
One of the top technology drivers is 5G edge computing, which Modor says will account for 2.7% of the 19.74% compound annual growth over the next five years. Edge computing provides robots with more data and thus enables greater autonomy. The impact of 5G edge computing will be greatest in major cities because the 5G and edge computing infrastructure are there and because those also are the places with the highest density of delivery customers.
These trends bode well for Robot.com, whose autonomous, AI-powered delivery robots are used by Sodexo, Grubhub and other major brands. The company also provides autonomous AI robots for a wide variety of use cases in logistics, manufacturing, and warehouses, where private 5G and edge computing are increasingly common. (For a deeper dive, see “Private 5G: Top Customer Verticals and Why Wideband Antennas are Key for Serving Them” and “Taking It to the Edge: 5G Edge Computing Antenna Requirements.”)
Whether they’re delivering groceries, folding towels, or stocking parts bins, every Robot.com product relies on three types of wireless to do its job safely, effectively, and precisely: cellular, Wi-Fi, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS. That’s because like humans, they need real-time information such as turn-by-turn directions to navigate unfamiliar places.
“Robot.com robots have operated in unscripted public environments, sidewalks, campuses, warehouses and city streets since 2017, which makes reliable cellular, Wi-Fi, and GNSS performance an operating requirement rather than a spec-sheet line,” says Andres Rengifo, Robotics Hardware Designer, Robot.com. “Connectivity dropouts directly stall operations.”
To maximize connectivity and thus reliability, Robot.com focused on antennas.
“For our newest products, we designed WaveLink, a dedicated antenna board whose custom shape lets us place the full RF complement at the highest, clearest point of the robot while integrating cleanly with the mechanical and industrial design,” Andres Rengifo says.
But that turned out to be easier said than done.
“Off-the-shelf external antennas fight the industrial design,” Andres Rengifo says. “We needed proven antenna elements we could integrate onto our own custom board, giving us full control of form factor and mechanical interfaces without launching an antenna development program from scratch.”
To overcome those challenges, Robot.com turned to Taoglas. The WaveLink design called for four antennas covering three radio functions — a main + aux cellular pair for 2×2 MIMO, Wi-Fi, and active GNSS — all of which had to coexist on a single custom PCB without detuning one another.
Taoglas leveraged its extensive portfolio of high-performance off-the-shelf antenna solutions to achieve optimal wireless performance while providing maximum flexibility during integration. This approach minimized development effort, reduced time to market, and enabled a streamlined product design process.
The solution incorporates compact, high-performance cellular, Wi-Fi, and precision GNSS antennas, combined with Taoglas’ bespoke low-loss RF cable assemblies, delivering reliable connectivity and positioning performance in a space-constrained environment.
“Off-the-shelf external antennas fight the industrial design,” Andres Rengifo says. “We needed proven antenna elements we could integrate onto our own custom board, giving us full control of form factor and mechanical interfaces without launching an antenna development program from scratch. Taoglas’ concrete application documentation, ground plane requirements, metal keep-outs, placement guidance, made that board-level integration possible.”
By partnering with Taoglas, Robot.com ensured that it achieved all of its form factor and performance goals.
“Taoglas was the one vendor that covered all three radio functions with board-mountable elements flexible enough to fit our custom form factor, available through standard distribution, and documented well enough to design a board around,” Andres Rengifo says. “Taoglas offered antenna elements that adapt to our geometry instead of dictating it, letting us ship a custom, mechanically integrated antenna board that met its performance targets on the first revision. Their responsive support, thorough documentation, and continuous collaboration throughout the design and integration process also were crucial to the success of WaveLink.”
Courtesy of Taoglas
