Yandex raises its rovers' average speed from 3.5 to 5 km/h using an SI planner
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
Large-scale simulation training has allowed the robots to complete routes faster while retaining independent sensors for emergency stops.
According to the company, the autonomous delivery robots' average speed rose by about 40% over five months after the entire fleet switched to a new motion planner in May 2026. The model is trained with reinforcement learning in a simulation running more than 6,000 virtual rovers simultaneously; cumulative training time has exceeded 20,000 virtual years. Instead of the previous behaviour of slowing down or stopping in unfamiliar situations, the model chooses a speed appropriate to the situation. On real routes, a lidar limits speed in advance around obstacles, and ultrasonic sensors can stop the robot in an emergency if an obstruction comes too close.
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