City Council Approves Autonomous Robot Delivery Service Pilot Program

REDWOOD CITY, CA –The City of Redwood City's City Council this week approved a resolution to create a pilot program to allow the use of autonomous robots, also known as Personal Delivery Devices (PDD), for a period of nine months in the City of Redwood City. The service will launch with 20 robots in December 2016.

The City will permit Starship Technologies, Inc. to use their robots on City sidewalks and streets, delivering goods such as restaurant meals and groceries to residents and businesses. The London-based company, founded in 2014, created and launched the use of an autonomous delivery robot that is being used in many cities in the United Kingdom and Germany. Starship Technologies chose Redwood City as its primary pilot program here in the United States. The company is launching a smaller pilot program in Washington D.C.

In a presentation to the Council, Starship Technologies representatives said they approached Redwood City as one of the launch locations due to the area's acceptance of new technologies, its bustling downtown, and the high rate of use of delivery services such as Munchery and Door Dash. Starship Technologies will use the PDDs in Redwood City for an initial pilot period of nine months, and then decide whether to continue based on the results on the pilot.

"We're excited that Starship Technologies chose Redwood City for this innovative autonomous robot program," said Mayor John Seybert. "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 PDD 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, it is assisted by a human controller to ensure it is safe for the robot to cross the street and not impede traffic. The PDDs travel throughout a five-mile radius from their docking point. Customers can establish their delivery times, track their items while in transit on the mobile application at all times, and securely retrieve their items with their unique code that opens the robot. Starship Technologies plans to have two docking locations in the city and will also serve residential areas.

For more information read the City staff report here.

– INFORMATION AND PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: City of Redwood City