The creative ideas came from the delivery business semantics and the mechanics behind how the robots move. As this kind of innovation did not exist it was difficult to know how people would perceive and accept this kind of service. Would people see the robot as the postman or the delivery car, and should the robot thus be able to communicate and show emotions and moods?

The process evolved around if Starship should appeal to the regulators or end-users. The robot is perceived in two ways; when you order something and when you see it on the streets. As the robot would be a visible part of the street scene and for it to become socially acceptable a big decision was made in the beginning to make it appealing for the end-user. The key driver was to make the robot accepted in people’s everyday life.

Starship robots are devices that can carry parcels or grocery bags within a 3 mile (5km) radius and weigh no more than 40 pounds fully loaded. Parcels and groceries are stored in Starship’s hubs and delivered when the client requests a delivery via the mobile app. It takes 5-30 minutes for the shipment to arrive, and the journey of the robot can be monitored on the shopper’s smartphone device. The robots can navigate their way through an area with perfect precision all whilst seamlessly merging with pedestrian traffic.

For security, the cargo bay is locked throughout the delivery and can be opened only by the recipient via the mobile phone. Human operators can take control over the device and communicate with people around it if necessary.

The service can be used where normal road infrastructure is found.

Starship’s robots have practically zero environmental footprint. They run on batteries and consume less energy than most light bulbs.

Starship robots were purposely designed using technologies made affordable by mobile phones and tablets as it allows for the cost savings to be passed on to the customer.

Starship has been launched worldwide and the first commercial trials are now performed in Greenwich, London.

As the last mile is the most time consuming and costly part of the logistics for businesses, Starship is eliminating the largest inefficiency in the delivery chain. It allows to lower the cost of local delivery by a factor of 5-10x. By presenting an altogether better option for shoppers and all kinds of businesses, robot delivery opens up new opportunities. Starship has the potential to shape attitudes towards ownership, from point-to-point delivery of goods to being the link between two users lending an electric drill to each other.

Starship’s platform replaces door-to-door deliveries currently done by large delivery vehicles. Instead, the delivery vans can drop their parcels in bulk at Starship hubs, resulting in massive efficiency gain. It also helps to replace around one third of trips and saves an hour per day per household normally spent on personal shopping trips on average. Starship is truly disrupting the last mile.