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"I kind of take it for granted that our great-grandchildren will regard us as a sort of precursor species. That they won't think of us as human and if we could see them, we probably wouldn't think of them as human either."
- William Gibson

Delivery Robot  
  A small autonomous device that will bring goods directly to a person or place.  

At first I thought that my brother Clark had managed one of his more charlatanous machinations of malevolent legerdemain. But fortunately (the only fortunate thing about the whole miserable mess) I soon perceived that it was impossible for him to be in fact guilty no matter what devious subversions roil his id. Unless he has managed to invent and build in secret a time machine, which I misdoubt he would do if he could . . .nor am I prepared to offer odds that he can’t. Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks and charge them to my code number without (so far as anyone could ever prove) disturbing the company’s seal on the control box.

We’ll never know how he did that one, because despite the fact that the company offered to Forgive All and pay a cash bonus to boot if only he would please tell them how he managed to beat their unbeatable seal — despite this, Clark just looked blank and would not talk.

Technovelgy from Podkayne of Mars, by Robert Heinlein.
Published by Worlds of IF in 1962
Additional resources -

Compare to the dope mule robot from Heavy Weather (1994) by Bruce Sterling.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Podkayne of Mars
  More Ideas and Technology by Robert Heinlein
  Tech news articles related to Podkayne of Mars
  Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein

Delivery Robot-related news articles:
  - Snackbot, Robotic Bringer Of Snacks
  - Transwheel Drone Robotic Delivery Vehicle
  - Kiwi Dominos Drone Pizza Delivery
  - Quadruped Jueying Delivery Robot Brings Fresh Coffee
  - Robot Food Delivery Coming To Campus Near You

Articles related to Robotics
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
Challenges Of Two-Armed Robots

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