Robots rolling around the community | by Ed Lovelock | Starship Technologies

Whether it’s children waving at Starship robots as they roll down the pavement, or families dancing to a song when they receive their deliveries, we’re proud to be at the heart of the communities we operate in.

We appreciate, though, that seeing robots isn’t ‘the norm’ for many people, so we wanted to shine more of a light onto how the robots work.

Starship robots are over 99% autonomous, having completed over 3.5 million deliveries globally. With a suite of cameras and sensors, they navigate — on sidewalks/pavements — along pre-mapped routes and can detect people and obstacles in their path.

The size of the robot is purposefully small, so they don’t take up too much space on pavements, yet they’re deceptively spacious and can still deliver up to 3 bags of shopping. Perfect for those top-up grocery shops or a takeaway with friends!

All robots are fitted with a bright orange, illuminated flag giving visibility to both pedestrians and drivers, along with front and rear lights for easy detection in the dark. You might also notice the lights flash to indicate the direction it’s about to change direction or turn.

And don’t worry, just because the robots are autonomous, they aren’t taking over. Each one is programmed to continue learning about its surroundings, in order to optimise delivery journeys and driving behaviour, but there’s also always a human on-hand, should the robot ever need it.

In these instances, the robot will send an alert back to Starship ‘Mission Control’ (aka our Operations team!) and a remote human assistant will help the robot out in its time of need. One person can oversee tens of robots at the same time, confirming a robot’s decisions and helping out if required. This is something that becomes increasingly less as time goes on — we started with two or three people needing to monitor every single robot, but now someone can oversee far more robots on their own.

How do I order?

Starship robots are already delivering in over 30 locations across 6 countries and it’s easy to get started!

Our friendly robots love being out and about in the community and look forward to delivering to you soon!

Team Starship x