San Francisco has been home to many quirky, forward-thinking technology startups over the years. There have been services that will fill your gas tank(Opens in a new window), mail you rolls of quarters(Opens in a new window), and even more ridiculous things. But delivery robots are just going too far -- this is where the people of San Francisco draw the line. The city's Board of Supervisors decided earlier this month to crack down on the delivery robots that have been taking over the city's sidewalks, limiting where than can go and what they can do.
The robots, from startups like Marble and Starship, employ computer vision technology to cruise down the sidewalk. They can avoid stationary obstacles like mailboxes and light poles, as well as indecisive humans. This is a tough problem when you consider even two humans can sometimes weave back and forth as they approach, unable to decide who will go left and who will go right.
Under the new rules, delivery robots will be restricted to certain areas of the city -- mostly industrial neighborhoods with few residents. The sidewalks also need to be at least 6-feet wide, and a human must accompany the robot at all times. The robots also need to emit a warning tone and observe all rights of way. Additionally, the robots can only be operated for research purposes, not to make real deliveries to customers.
These services are still largely experimental, so the changes might not be as detrimental as you'd expect. When someone orders an item or meal from one of the robot delivery services, the machine is loaded by a human and escorted by someone with a remote control. The goal is for the robot to use its array of sensors like cameras and lidar to navigate the crowd, but the chaperone is there in case it gets confused or is about to run someone down. On the street, a self-driving car has lanes and street signs to guide it, but sidewalks are a more open environment.
A Starship delivery robot.
The lower cost of advanced sensors lets these startups send robots out into the real world with increasing regularity. It's an interesting trend, but also one even San Francisco is unsure about. San Francisco Supervisor Norman Yee, who authored the legislation, is unconvinced delivery robots will improve the city. "Not every innovation is all that great for society," said Yee.
It's possible delivery robots will make a comeback in the Bay Area when the technology is more mature. These companies might also look to focus on testing in other cities with lighter traffic, much as Waymo has done with its self-driving cars in Arizona.Tagged In
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