Just when you think you’ve seen it all, let us stop you right there. Starship Technologies, a UK based technology company has created a rolling droid that will actually deliver food straight to your doorstep. This is not something out of a sci-fi movie, but has and really is happening – we are really in an age where robots deliver food…
Just Eat claims to have made the world’s first ever online food Delivery using this self-drive Robot. This robot delivery droid was dispatched to autonomously deliver a customer’s order through a fast-food delivery app.
When the order was placed via the Just Eat app, the robot was sent to the restaurant from the Starship Technologies HQ where the prepared meal was then placed in its secure cargo hold where the robot then continued its journey to the delivery address. The lucky customer certainly received her food delivery with a twist after opening the door to discover a six wheeled robot delivering her online order.
How it works
I know I had a million questions and thoughts as to how this was possible and what could go wrong. Let’s just dive straight into how the robot actually works. Unlike Robots designed to resemble humans, Starship’s droid is purely functional with a large compartment to hold deliveries, the equivalent size of two grocery bags or 20 lbs of goods. What’s even more cool is that it is almost completely self-driving. It remains connected to the Internet, utilizing 3G to find its way to the customer’s address.
Starship Technologies developed a highly efficient and clean machine that keeps the ‘would-be’ customer up to date on the status of their delivery. It is capable of carrying deliveries up to a 3 mile radius and takes 5 to 30 minutes for the shipment to arrive at the designated address.
The electric-powered robot can travel up to 10 mph, but typically moves at around 4 mph, as compared to a human’s “brisk walking speed”. It contains a 360-degree camera, infrared and ultrasonic sensors and are currently monitored by human operators who can take control at any time if required. Integrated navigation and ‘obstacle avoidance software’ enables the robots to steer clear of pedestrians or to jump over curbs and avoid pot-holes. And in the short run, humans have to help the robots with road crossings and it is the most dangerous part of the journey.
As of July this year, these little cooler-sized robots have encountered over 1.3 million people without a single incident.
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You may be wondering,”What about theft or vandalism?” This droid even has anti-theft protocols to deter the possible thief.
If someone even attempts to tamper with the robot, a human operator can take over and even talk directly to the ‘attacker’ and send police to the drone’s location. The nine camera’s installed on the robot can capture the criminal’s face and the bots cargo hold can only be opened via a code sent to the receiver through text messaging.
Will I see one in my neighborhood?
Currently, the trials for this technology are mainly being conducted in European cities. However, the robots are being tested on the streets of Washington DC and San Francisco. We hope to see this Wall-E like robot in more cities very soon so we can all see a robot roll up to our door with a fast-food delivery.
