What comes after automatic vacuum cleaners, assembly line manufacturing robots and self-driving cars and trucks? Looks like the next industry in threat is going to be delivery, thanks to these little bots from Starship Technologies.
That’s right: These little guys might be making an appearance on your doorstep in the near future. In fact, Virginia’s already passed a law allowing them to use crosswalks and sidewalks.
Per Mashable:
The impetus for the new law is Starship Technologies, which is looking to use its beetle bots to deliver packages or groceries or beer or whatever else you can stuff inside.
The bots won’t be allowed to beef up beyond 50 pounds or zip around at anything above 10 miles per hour, though that’s still the pace of someone running pretty quickly down the block. They do, however, have a little flag so they don’t blindside folks who will inevitably trip over them while looking at their phones.
Looks like a few other states are considering bills to allow much of the same, and companies like GrubHub and Amazon are already throwing their weight behind this new form of delivery.
On the plus-side, your beer run just got infinitely easier. On the downside, however, seems like a lot of delivery people might be kinda pissed if this becomes a major trend.
(h/t Mashable)