Starship's Self-Driving Delivery Robots Are Here
We’ve all heard of drone delivery, but two of the original founders of Skype believe that the future of personal couriers is an emission-less self-driving robot on six wheels.
Starship Technologies have been testing these robots for a while now, they’ve driven over 5,000 miles and are ready to start delivering soup and sandwiches to hungry first adaptors. Estonians Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, two of Skype’s original founders, helped bring the idea to life. The parcel bots will soon begin making shipments in London, Dusseldorf, Bern and another undisclosed German city.
The robots are GPS/camera based and weigh about 40 pounds. Delivery is expected to take around 5-30 minutes. The delivery radius is 3 miles, and as the “last mile” is usually the most expensive part of a delivery, this idea will dramatically cut costs. With a top speed of about 4mph, the thought is that the robot blends in with pedestrian traffic. I’m unsure how neighborhood pets will respond to this new technology. Customers track the incredible journey real-time on a mobile app, and only they can unlock the bot and collect their delivery.
As aerial delivery drones have many issues: Government regulation, privacy concerns, and safety problems, these robots are a fresh alternative. What does this mean for the future of home delivery? Time will tell how Starship’s robots will fit into daily life.
The question is if people will mess with the robots, changing the course, kicking it over, or vandalizing it. Sure, some people will, but with cameras and people watching, they will get caught and punished. The little robot has its work cut out for it, the hitchhiking robot hitchBot lasted about two weeks before it was destroyed/stolen by humans.
The company plans to launch pilot programs in other countries, including the US, later in the year. This technology couldn’t come soon enough; I could use an afternoon snack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEWfsVPqKi4
