Thelife
Starship Technologies
The robots have arrived, and they're here to work.
On March 23, bots from Starship Technologies started taking over some of the work done by human couriers at on-demand delivery startup DoorDash. The self-driving robots ferry goods from restaurants in Redwood City, California, to customers within a two-mile radius.
Starship Technologies, a London-based robotics company, aims to make on-demand delivery more efficient by having robots complete deliveries in congested urban areas, where driving can often be a challenge. The company claims its six-wheeled couriers can finish deliveries in as little as 15 to 30 minutes, traversing the streets of Silicon Valley with relative ease.
The startup faces competition from robotics company Dispatch, whose self-driving delivery robots were spotted learning the streets of San Francisco in February.
We followed a Starship Technologies robot during its first day on the job to see how it works.