One of Starship Technologies’ autonomous food delivery robots tripped up a school employee at Arizona State University last September. As 404 Media reports, when contacted by the police, an employee asked for the person’s info to share insurance info and to offer a few promo codes.
A police report said video footage confirmed the person’s description of the incident. They waited for a delivery robot to pass. Once they continued, the robot suddenly reversed and knocked them over before driving a short distance away and reversing to hit them again while they were on the ground. They reported lower back pain and a 4-inch cut on their arm that was treated by the local fire department.
A company spokesperson told 404 Media that the robot hit the pedestrian “at extremely low speed after detecting an oncoming vehicle.”
404 Media also noted another incident where Starship Technologies initially declined to press charges against two students who stole a robot before reversing course and pressing charges, and the outlet previously reported on problems the bots had driving into construction sites or off campus.
Starship Technologies began its first robot delivery trials in Europe in 2016, and by 2021, the company had completed 1.5 million deliveries and operated on 20 campuses. That number grew to 50 by late 2023, and earlier this year, it said it had completed more than 6 million autonomous deliveries.
All in all, insurance info and promo codes might not be a bad offer — one woman couldn’t get video from Starship Technologies in 2020 when one of the robots ran into her car, causing $2,600 in damage.
