Food delivery device invades our footpaths

The "suitcase" meets a pedestrian
 - it's programmed to give way.

Pedestrians often complain that there is no room on the sidewalks (and in New York City, people are taking to the streets because of it), and it’s because the cars stole all the space and everyone else is fighting over scraps. And while we worry about how pedestrians will deal with autonomous vehicles on the roads, now they will also have to worry about autonomous delivery vehicles on the sidewalks.

Vehicles like the new Starship, designed in Estonia, tested in London and soon coming to Washington DC. CEO Allan Martinson describes it in the Washington Post:

“It’s basically a mobile phone on wheels,” Martinson said. Its low speed and weight — 4 miles per hour and 40-pounds max — also short-circuit safety concerns, he added. “It’s basically a rolling suitcase. If you go home and try to kill yourself with a suitcase, you’d have to be very inventive.”

Read the Treehugger story - “Will autonomous delivery robots soon be pushing pedestrians off the sidewalks?”