© Ford, Tim LaBarge

If 'Digit' encounters an obstacle en route, it sends an image of it to the delivery vehicle, which calculates a new route for its two-legged companion - but can also request navigation assistance from the cloud or other systems. Together with Agility Robotics, the aim is to achieve what "has so far proved surprisingly difficult: completing the last step in deliveries from the car to the recipient's door", says Ken Washington, CTO of Ford and Vice President of Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.