Starship Delivery Robot Undergo Trials

We first took a look at the Starship delivery robot some time close to the end of last year, where the founders of Skype came up with this unique idea of a grocery delivering robot. At least this is one robot that remains grounded without having to join the rest of the drone delivery craze that we seem to read about every other day. The Starship robot, as it is known, is a self-driving, battery-powered box on wheels that has gone through 3,000 hours of testing and looks set to undergo local delivery trials in Greenwich.

Touted to be a “ground drone”, the brainchild of former Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis are keeping their fingers crossed that this particular invention will be a popular choice among the smaller local businesses, and this will include bakeries and corner shops. Imagine having a freshly baked bagel or croissant arrive at your doorstep without having to make that block-long walk to the bakery.

What if there are vandals who would like to rob the Starship of its contents? Fret not, while it is not as feisty as R2-D2, they do come equipped with cameras and a warning signal. This is part of the €25 million EU Smart Cities project that will test out new and unproven technologies, hoping that such ideas will be able to enhance people’s lives. The integrated battery has a life of 2 hours thereabouts, with a delivery range of up to 30 minutes away, as it relies on GPS using 3G signals to get around at 4mph.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: starship