Italian Vespa maker Piaggio launches AI-driven factory robot

(Reuters) - Vespa maker Piaggio launched on Tuesday a factory robot which uses artificial intelligence to move autonomously on pre-set routes and which can carry up to 130 kilograms.

The Italian company said it would use the robot on the production lines of its motorbike brand Moto Guzzi in Italy, and later in other factories in Italy, India, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The device, named "kilo" and developed by the group's U.S. robotic mobility unit Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), can follow its operator, move on up to 100 pre-recorded routes or move autonomously, Piaggio said.

Kilo robots can "move safely with and around workers in complex environments", and would be suitable for use by "any sector that relies on the repetitive movement of goods", PFF chief executive Greg Lynn said in a statement.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, editing by Alvise Armellini)