Calling all homebodies! Never leave your home again because the future is here - a delivery robot can now bring you your food!
The age-ol' city living conundrum. You're in for the night, it's late, it's probably cold outside... and you're
starving. You know exactly what you want, but you don't want to go out and get it – so what's a hungry homebody to do? Call your local friendly delivery robot, that's what!
Granted, there are several apps foodies can use to get their favorite dishes quickly without having to step out of their homes. But with a futuristic robotic option, who would ever use Grub Hub again?
A fleet (yes, a
fleet) of 20 autonomous, knee-high robots are slowly but surely taking over the streets of D.C. and they aim to revolutionize the way we view food delivery. Each delivery robot is around 35 pounds and is basically a cooler with wheels. They scoot along at about four miles per hour, and are complete with lights and a cute little warning flag to be more visible to pedestrians.
The food-toting delivery robot is of European decent, created in Estonia by
Starship Technologies. The new company
has was founded by two of the cofounders of Skype, Janus Friis and Ahti Heinla. According to NPR, here in D.C., Starship has joined forces with Postmates, an online delivery service, and the bots are already scooting food all around the city.
Addresses are programmed into the bots, much like when you enter in your order to Postmates or Grub Hub
, and off the little electric coolers go. They utilize AI to move around town efficiently, a delivery robot has nine cameras all along the rim, GPS, and sensors that help identify speed of pedestrians surrounding it on the sidewalk.
The bots take in a lot of information on their deliveries. The cameras recognize traffic lights, crosswalks and stop signs. Also, like most AI, they learn more and more on every trip. Soon they will learn that I have no life and love Mediterranean food.
The bots aren't perfect, there are a few things that trip up the little buggers on their deliveries. Fortunately, if a delivery robot finds itself in a situation it doesn't understand, like a strange walkway, or a car with flashing lights, there is always a human operator monitoring things - so all the bots have to do is call for help. The downside to this is the remote operator may be in Estonia where Starship is headquartered.
For all of you thinking, "What's to stop someone from stealing my food... or stealing a delivery robot all together?!" The human-camera combo provides great security to prevent such things from happening. If someone tries to steal a bot, an alarm sounds and the operator can speak through two-way speakers. The cameras can photograph the thief, and there are several tracking devices in place that can lead the police to them immediately. Lastly, the robot won't work or open unless you reprogram it, so there's that.
Laws have passed allowing these little guys on public sidewalks in both D.C. and Virginia, with similar laws to follow in Florida and Idaho.
What do you think about a delivery robot bringing you your dinner? We'd love to hear what you think!