Self-driving food delivery robots just rolled on onto Sunderland! This novel program, which went live today, is the result of a Just Eat trial in collaboration with tech company Street Drone. Developed by Starship Technologies, these autonomous robots aim to assist during busy periods and staff shortages by navigating the city’s streets to deliver food from participating restaurants. The trial includes real, looming customer orders from 12 local restaurants. One particularly notable success is Koji, an Asian restaurant that’s gotten rave reviews.
Fitted with cameras and six large rubber wheels, the remotely operated robots are purpose-built to navigate city streets without causing harm. Each robot is equipped with a 10-foot tall tube with a flashing orange flag on top that warns pedestrians to get out of the way. The program aims to ease some of the recruitment and retention obstacles that employers—from larger businesses to independents like Koji—encounter.
Peter Richardson, with Koji, talked through the cost-saving possibilities that could come from the robots. He suggested that robots might be able to take the place during large holidays such as Christmas, New Year, and Ramadan. These are the key moments when people most urgently need to take time away. He was at great pains to explain robots are meant to assist human workers, not replace them. They’re not here to replace anyone, but rather to support during peak times.
Starship Technologies’ founder and CEO Ahti Heinla echoed this sentiment, stating, “We are adding a new delivery option and it doesn’t replace people.” While human couriers would continue to deliver higher-margin deliveries within city limits, robots would allow them to serve more remote areas economically, Heinla explained. He added, “It’s not taking away from the human side, because there’s always the option,” indicating that a hybrid approach could emerge in the delivery industry.
As exciting as this new innovation is, many residents are concerned about what it means. Rachael Atkinson’s son Teddy was intrigued by the robots, but Atkinson herself voiced apprehension about their potential to displace workers. She said they sounded “kind of nuts” and were going to take away “a whole bunch of people’s jobs.”
New York local Eugene Murphy admitted that change is inevitable and technological advancement must be addressed but asked if this kind of change was really needed. On the other hand, Shaun Taylor of the trial cheered the test as an indication of Sunderland moving forward in step with modern times.
Not everyone sees this development positively. Alex Marshall, president of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), slammed robot deliveries. He described the ruling as “dystopian,” contending that the displacement of human labor without compensation turns diligence by humanity obsolete. He cautioned that long term effects on delivery jobs, especially in the face of deploying such advanced technology first, may not be considered.
Starship Technologies, a delivery robot company, briefly shines a light on the worldwide lack of couriers. Their robots will now aid the less mobile or homebound. Heinla noted that “robots have a key role to play in the delivery of infrastructure to help meet the growing demand,” suggesting that while technology evolves, human couriers will still be necessary for certain routes.