Starship Technologies delivery robots

Starship Technologies is an Estonian company that makes autonomous delivery robots. 

Starship launched started launching commercial services in 2017 in the UK, USA, Germany, and other countries, often in partnership with local supermakets.  

The robots, which can travel at a max speed of 6 kilometres per hour (3.7 mph), use 10 cameras, ultrasound, radar, and GPS to travel along pavements and cross streets.

People have generally welcomed Starship Technologies' robots for their convenience, time-saving, and perceived cuteness.

Risks and harms 🛑

Starship robots have been known to crash, get lost, or take too much time to make deliveries, leading to negative feedback and, occasionally, physical backlashes. Concerns have also been expressed about their impact on jobs.

Incidents 🔥

• In August 2020, the BBC reported that a Starship Technologies robot delivering groceries in Milton Keynes, UK, veered into a canal. It is not known how the robot made a mistake, or if human interference was to blame. 

• In December 2022, a group of Starship robots in Cambridge, UK, were filmed being kicked by a construction worker, drawing a mixture of sympathy for the robots and concern about their impact on jobs.

• The same month a Starship robot made the news by thanking a passer-by for his help after it had got stuck on an icy pavement in Cambridge.

• In June 2023, Milton Keynes resident Brian Walker was 'attacked' by a Starship robot operated by the Co-op after it had collided with his dog and he had kicked it. 

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-53678376

• https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/watch-delivery-robot-rescued-teenager-milton-keynes-after-getting-stuck-upside-down-2962174

• https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/one-milton-keynes-famous-starship-robots-found-face-down-river-2933564

• https://medium.com/geekculture/heres-how-robots-are-taking-over-the-world-f92ce160cb93

• https://www.hottytoddy.com/2020/02/06/new-food-delivery-robots-generally-well-accepted-after-first-week/

• https://www.ladbible.com/news/man-kicks-delivery-robot-faces-backlash-234287-20221217

• https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/20793591/coop-delivery-robots-cambridge-kicked-by-workers-tiktok/

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11550997/Construction-worker-filmed-KICKING-food-delivery-robot-faces-backlash-people-feel-sorry-it.html

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-63997868

• https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/22733115/dog-walker-brian-dawson-attacked-co-op-delivery-robot/