GRA
Well-known member
Via GCR: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1108594_starship-electric-sidewalk-delivery-robot-a-hit-at-dc-auto-show
Whether it would just be a fad and quickly fade away, or something that had staying power, IDK.
There's video. Think of it as a Roomba that delivers. The obvious downside I see is that this will be a prime candidate for the urban equivalent of cow-tipping. While that activity may be apocryphal, Smart-tipping was very real, and this would be much easier to accomplish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBqFW-snRWEWhat would you do if a small, knee-high box on wheels with a flag topping its tall antenna whirred toward you electrically on a sidewalk at 4 miles per hour?
It turns out three-quarters of the pedestrians in several cities who've seen one didn't stop or even stare as it avoided them and continued on its way.
That box is an electric sidewalk delivery robot, and the British company Starship Technologies now has 75 to 80 of them testing in 59 cities in 16 countries, including the U.S. . . .
Whether it would just be a fad and quickly fade away, or something that had staying power, IDK.