These robots are about to start delivering food in the US

A small number of Americans will soon be able to have food and other goods delivered to them by an adorable semi-autonomous robot. Starship Technologies announced the first two commercial partnerships for its ground-based delivery robots in the US — one with DoorDash in Redwood City, California, and one with Postmates in Washington, DC. The commercial trials will see these services start making deliveries in the coming weeks using Starship’s six-wheeled robots within a four-mile-wide test area in each city.

Starship Technologies’ robots have already driven thousands of miles in cities around the world, and the company even helped get legislation put in place to make the testing possible in Washington, DC. While these will be the company’s first two commercial trials in the US, Starship has already performed deliveries in the UK and Germany.

The robots are capable of carrying up to 20 pounds of cargo, and their top speed of just four miles per hour means they typically stick to navigating sidewalks. Customers will be able to track the delivery on a map, and will receive a notification when it’s arrived. In all, the trips should take between 15–30 minutes. The Starship robots are lined with cameras and sensors that let them navigate autonomously as long as the company has already mapped out the delivery area.

Read more at The Verge

Image Credit: Starship Technologies

-jk-