Estonia-based robotic company Starship Technologies is designing robots to solve delivery problems. The delivery robots have a capacity to carry grocery items up to 40 pounds. They will make its way to delivery points autonomously.
Starship Technologies has been in the works in creating a fleet of robots to be used for delivery service. Rather than flying drones to delivery grocery items to people's doors, the company suggests that it is safer to use land-based robots. It is also much more practical and cheaper when it comes to operational costs. The company states that the fleet of rover type robots will change the way things are delivered dramatically.
During an interview at Slush 2015 held in Helsinki, Finland, Starship Technologies co-founder Ahti Heinla acknowledges the huge potential of robots in improving people's lives and change the world. The company has always been attracted to solve big problems.
Nowadays, delivery services are much more of a problem that helping people in long distances communicate with their loved ones. To address the problem, the company has been led to create delivery robots and has been already testing it on the busy streets of Boston, Dublin, London, New York, and San Francisco.
It is not a secret that the company has been testing these robots on busy streets. They estimate that nearly 10,000 folks have already seen the robots and claim that it provoked little reaction to society. "Our vision revolves around three zeroes-zero cost, zero waiting time and zero environmental impact," Heinla said in a press release. He added that people do not react too much to the robots, which is an important matter as it shows that the robots can be accepted in people's daily lives.
The company states that they have not seen social misconduct toward the delivery robots. During the tests on the busy streets of big cities as mentioned, people did not push it, knock it down, or even kick it. Breaking into the robot's compartments is just as difficult as breaking into a vehicle.
The delivery robots are autonomous. It will make its way to customers on its own and it can carry a grocery load of up to 40 pounds. People will receive delivery schedules through a smartphone app. Once delivery is accomplished, the robots will return to a hub where it will be housed. The robot delivery service is targeted for a full consumer launch in 2017.
