If you’re walking on a D.C. sidewalk and see a 2-foot-tall robot rolling beside you, don’t be alarmed. It’s just a new member of the on-demand delivery workforce in Washington.
The little bots have officially debuted in the District, courtesy Starship Technologies, which have deployed its first fleet in a partnership with San Francisco-based Postmates. We wrote about the robots in the fall after Starship, which has a research and development headquarters in Estonia and business headquarters in London, tested them in 16 countries. New D.C. legislation made the nation’s capital an option and the partnership’s first pilot market.
The semi-autonomous machines are delivering meals, groceries and other goodies for Postmates, which also makes deliveries via foot, car, bike or scooter. For now, a human is accompanying the robots on all trips — those that cover short distances or involve cheap items that otherwise wouldn’t make sense to order because of a delivery fee.
Once they are…
