Starship delivery robots!

[W124Bob]

It appears Trafford Council and a local Co-op have teamed up to trial these delivery robots, according to faceache 24hrs and it's not going well!

[eharding]

W124Bob said:

It appears Trafford Council and a local Co-op have teamed up to trial these delivery robots, according to faceache 24hrs and it's not going well!

Let me guess - they've been trying to deliver food in these things, which have predictably been set upon by packs of Labradors using GPS jammers and cutting gear?

[geeks]

Its been up and running fine in other areas for years!

[vikingaero]

Lots of comments from people that they won't use the service as it is putting people out of work.

People work... in Manchester?!?!

[Dog Star]

geeks said:

Its been up and running fine in other areas for years!

There’s not a chance that these can work in places with proliferations of rough estates, yoofs etc etc.

Same with electric rental bikes.

Such a shame really. It’s why we can’t have nice things.

[Gecko1978]

Dog Star said:

geeks said:

Its been up and running fine in other areas for years!

There’s not a chance that these can work in places with proliferations of rough estates, yoofs etc etc.

Same with electric rental bikes.

Such a shame really. It’s why we can’t have nice things.

More than that is say 20 years certian areas will just be isolated from normal society. Of 80% are getting drone deliveries but you have to have a man jn a van you can see poor areas paying more for like for like services

[turbobloke]

Dog Star said:

geeks said:

Its been up and running fine in other areas for years!

There’s not a chance that these can work in places with proliferations of rough estates, yoofs etc etc.

Same with electric rental bikes.

Such a shame really. It’s why we can’t have nice things.

Yes, a shame - and O/T, when this crops up, a particular documentary on door supervisors comes to mind, to which reactions will vary.

in one part of the documentary a member of the aforementioned fraternity was driving through the less salubrious parts of a city centre, pointing out 'his' clubs while offering commentary on his typical interaction with a 'yoof' as above.

"At home, kid steps out of line, mum says no, kid carries on, nothing much happens. At school, kid steps out of line, teacher says no, kid carries on, nothing much happens. On the street, kid steps out of line, plod says no, kid carries on, nothing much happens. In my club, kid steps out of line, I say no, kid carries on, I deck him. First time the kid learns no means no."

Obviously, retraining needed...

[Oliver Hardy]

Been looking on you tube to see how they work, haven't really found an answer, how do they cross roads for example or open gates?

[Ridgemont]

Oliver Hardy said:

Been looking on you tube to see how they work, haven't really found an answer, how do they cross roads for example or open gates?

They wait until road is clear. If road isn’t clear they wait at pedestrian crossings waiting for pedestrians to push button/cross.
Gates are avoided: unlike humans they are happy to take the 30 min detour.
Keep in mind they aren’t fully autonomous: they can be remotely controlled.
They have been around this neck of the woods for years.

[Oliver Hardy]

Ridgemont said:

Oliver Hardy said:

Been looking on you tube to see how they work, haven't really found an answer, how do they cross roads for example or open gates?

They wait until road is clear. If road isn’t clear they wait at pedestrian crossings waiting for pedestrians to push button/cross.
Gates are avoided: unlike humans they are happy to take the 30 min detour.
Keep in mind they aren’t fully autonomous: they can be remotely controlled.
They have been around this neck of the woods for years.

How do they know the road is clear, or that someone pushed the button?

Where is your what part of the woods do you live?

[Ridgemont]

Oliver Hardy said:

Ridgemont said:

Oliver Hardy said:

Been looking on you tube to see how they work, haven't really found an answer, how do they cross roads for example or open gates?

They wait until road is clear. If road isn’t clear they wait at pedestrian crossings waiting for pedestrians to push button/cross.
Gates are avoided: unlike humans they are happy to take the 30 min detour.
Keep in mind they aren’t fully autonomous: they can be remotely controlled.
They have been around this neck of the woods for years.

How do they know the road is clear, or that someone pushed the button?

Where is your what part of the woods do you live?

They have cameras providing a 360 degree view. Including a sensor that detects both the path and vehicles.

You can see what the company claims here:

https://youtu.be/6MUpHBUzvJ4

As I say I suspect that the autonomy is in reality restricted to basic stretches (like long footpaths etc) and when the vehicle (robot is a bit of a stretch) is presented with something it can’t easily negotiate it will invoke an actual handler.

Re lights and buttons the robot will actually request you press the button.

My guess has always been that the ‘autonomous’ part of the vehicle has always been overegged as I’ve seen some pretty nuts manoeuvres pulled which only make sense if controlled by a human.

I currently live between Northampton and Milton Keynes which have had the service up and running for a couple of years.

[WonkeyDonkey]

I used to be against these due to the taking jobs away from people etc.

But see how the justeat lot behave when it comes to dumping their cars and being rude to staff I can't wait til they get replaced.

[Jamescrs]

These operate in North Leeds where I live.
I've used the service once because the kids wanted a robot delivery, it was OK, ordered through the App, you can track the robot much like an Uber driver on their app.

I wouldnt use it again because frankly it's easier just to walk to the shop in the time it takes a robot to turn up, it was a novelty.

I've seen them.cross roads reguarly, I believe they are autonomous because if they were human controlled I suspect they wouldn't take the long convoluted routes they do to get to their destinations.

I've also seen them get stuck for example on a grass banking and on a road works sign which had fallen over on the pavement, they broadcast for help from anyone nearby to give them a push.

I'm not convinced about the long term future of them but I'm sure they will evolve into something better functioning

[rodericb]

Jamescrs said:

.....I've also seen them get stuck for example on a grass banking and on a road works sign which had fallen over on the pavement, they broadcast for help from anyone nearby to give them a push.....

Do they broadcast out electronically to a team of stuck-robot-picker-uppers or do they have a loudspeaker with which it bleats out "help.....help....help...." until someone does right it or its batteries go flat?

[the-norseman]

We have had them in MK for a few years now, generally they work ok, sometimes they get stuck, break down and get vandalised.

The products you can get from Tesco/COOP are generally £1-2 more expensive than collecting them, then there is a delivery charge on top.