Grocery Delivery Robots To Deploy In Redwood City
REDWOOD CITY (CBS SF) -- Grocery delivery boys were once a common feature in American cities. Now, they have been replaced by a fleet of small robots that will soon be rolling through the streets of Redwood City.
The Redwood City City Council has voted to allow London-based Starship Technologies Inc. to use a fleet of 20 robots to deliver goods such as restaurant meals and groceries to residents and businesses.
The project will be the first of is kind for Starship in the United States and will run on a test basis for nine months. The service is already successfully being run in cities in both England and Germany.
"We're excited that Starship Technologies chose Redwood City for this innovative autonomous robot program," said Mayor John Seybert in a prepared statement. "This has strong potential to reduce traffic in Redwood City and allow for some restaurants and businesses to serve a greater number of customers."
The robots can carry approximately three grocery bags worth of goods and weighs about 50 pounds when fully loaded. It uses nine on-board cameras to assist in its travels along the sidewalks and going no more than four miles per hour.
At street crossings, the robots will be assisted by a human controller to ensure it is safe to cross the street and not impede traffic.
The company will set up two docking locations in the city. The robots will be able to travel a five-mile radius from their docking point.
