According to a report by the WSJ, Daimler has led a new $17.2 million funding round in Starship Technologies, a startup founded in 2014 by Skype founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis. For UK based Starship, the round is one more step in their journey towards bringing rolling drone deliveries to city sidewalks around the world. Heinla, CEO of Starship Technologies, said in a statement:
Starship is reinventing the last mile transportation process, allowing convenient and sustainable robotic delivery. This funding further accelerates development of our technologies and enables us to launch pilot programs in several new markets.
Starship’s six-wheeled autonomous delivery bots are basically coolers on wheels, which can be used to keep contents hot or cold, as well as safe and secure, while bringing them the last mile of their journey to a customer’s doorstep. The drones are designed to stick to the ground as a way to simplify the regulatory process, at a time when airborne delivery crafts face much more scrutiny and higher standards where safety requirements are concerned, before they can enter even supervised trials.
Startship Technologies boasts of delivery bots that are equipped with an array of cameras and sensors, and are designed to be tamper resistant and fine to operate in a variety of weather conditions. They’ve been in testing in both Europe and North America on public streets, and as of last year, have even begun small-scale commercial service in London. These bots can “walk” at 4mph, cross the road, and avoid obstacles.
A stellar example of how these bots can be put to use in everyday life is the food delivery service sector. Takeaway food delivery service Just Eat is using the robots to deliver meals to customers in London through an all new trial.
One of the biggest challenges faced by Starship Technologies is making sure that people don’t steal, damage, or interfere with the robots. According to a Just Eat employee’s statement to Business Insider last year, a member of the public once attempted to rip the flag from one of its robots that was out on delivery.
Even so, the company claims that its robots have covered over 16,000 miles in 16 countries and 59 cities. They have also “encountered” over 3.1 million people.
