R2D2 delivery robots to scurry through the streets of San Francisco An Estonian robotics company is trialling six-wheeled delivery robots that can trundle through San Francisco delivering goods to the local population. The robots are built by Starship Technologies, a company founded in 2014 by Skype cofounders Janus Friis and Ahti Heinla, and can trundle along at 6kph (3.7mph) delivering goods …
Why would Homeland Security
It can carry stuff. If it becomes popular enough for it to become inconspicuous this opens a whole range of opportunities for delivering "interesting" packages via both hijacked robots and jihadi robots masquerading as your common delivery bot. Both use cases are of definite interest to homeland security (or its equivalents elsewhere in the world).
The Boys In BlueWhite are just going to perform their Duty with the occasional ... uh ... accident.
I want to hijack a couple of these and make my own modifications.
Imagine answering your door and getting greeted with "If you ordered mushu chicken with hot and sour soup, I AM the droid you are looking for!" Or "Help me Obj-Wan, you're my only hope"
And perhaps a snide "What, no tip?" at the end.
The risk isn't crims. The risk is lawyers. As soon as these R2D2notreally are let loose, somebody will be claiming that an R2D2notreally knocked them off their feet causing life changing harm. This being the Land of No Proportion (the land formerly known as the Land of the Free), there will be an army of lawyers willing to take on a class action case to achieve "justice".
This post has been deleted by its author
"somebody will be claiming that an R2D2notreally knocked them off their feet causing life changing harm."
Which will last as long as it takes for the first case to get to court and the company to play the onboard surveillance (from the 9 cameras, natch) showing it didn't happen, then countersuing.
This will be one of those cases where they LET it go to court, in order to make an example of the scammer and the scammer's lawyer.
With nine cameras, yes, there;s bound to be some worthwhile electronics in there.
I wonder if this is a case of "i have a hammer, that looks like a nail" issue? Nine cameras and the associated processing power required to run the imaging systems seem like huge overkill for a mobile drone creeping along the ground that simply needs to avoid all obstacles. I'd have thought a couple or three cameras would be enough. There are all sorts of simple and dirt cheap proximity sensors that could do the lions share of the work.
"And therefore we're all scumbags. But you aren't, so If you visit you might possibly be used for target practice. Better stay where you are...."
No, I don't think that was implied in the OP's comment but the very fact that you flew off the handle with your mock outrage at the slightest provocation AND combined with the possibility that you might own a gun, that's what gives me the utmost concern!
Yes, I do understand that both of you are concerned and fearful of people not under complete government control. Who knows WHAT they might get up to? Freedom, for instance. Very dangerous concept, freedom, and very scary for certain insecure types. But hey, that's why they invented totalitarian government, right?
Basically a dustbin on wheels then.
There are worse things than wheels...
Vic.
A wheeled robot can only navigate across a relatively flat surface. SF has some notoriously steep hills with sidewalks going straight up, some of the sidewalks even have steps. Then there's the curb, newspaper racks and detritus.
Aside from the Jawas, you'll have to make a human delivery point, and that human won't want to receive if the Jawas are watching.
Ah... Yes. However Bullitt failed to trash his 'pinto'[?] on said streets so the robots will be OK. Presumably the fixie delivery bike riders in said city have a different set of gears on their flop-flips to go with their massive thighs and perceive no threat.
Close... Ford Mustang. The other car in the chase is a Dodge Charger.
Now picture them trying to avoid the sortaR2D2s.
I'd just like to picture them sending those stupid delivery robots flying. With any luck, they'd hit an Amazon delivery drone on the way out.
The bicycle messengers will NOT be happy with the addition to the sidewalk detritus. Add to this the garbage bins that come and go on the sidewalks, the rush of people on the sidewalks (assuming this is in the business district), and the "criminal element" that might be encountered there and elsewhere, it should prove to be an entertaining show.
All of this, to get us used to "helpful robots and drones" watching our evey move.....
And you're just referring to major geographical features.
The minor ones will be worse: homeless sleeping on a grates. Massive subsidence caused holes or depressions. Cracks large enough to lose a shoe in. Dog poop everywhere. Cars blocking the sidewalk. Bicyclists and human pedaled scooters. Sidewalk advertising signs. Restaurants that have put chairs and tables on the sidewalk.
"Dog poop everywhere. "
That's a bot opportunity all by itself. Two of the biggest impediments to decent street cleaning are the cost of human operators and the size of the equipment needed so they can ride in/on it.
Paris was awash with dogshit prior to the bicentennial but discovered after the clean up for that, the citizens liked it. For many years there were mobile cleaning squads (https://anotherbagmoretravel.wordpress.com/tag/france-dog-shit/) but they're gone (costs) and you need to look where you're walking.
This doesn't look even a bit like R2D2. BigTrak (a little) but not R2D2.
Also, this seems like a stupid idea. Also as someone else pointed out - this looks like a great way to deliver an explosive device. It just seems like a really bad idea (much like the flying delivery drones do).
"Also as someone else pointed out - this looks like a great way to deliver an explosive device."
There are already many, many ways to deliver an "explosive device" (we used to call them bombs). Various obvious, less obvious and stupidly complex methods have been discussed endlessly in these forums over the years and yet not a single one of them has happened in real life. Terrorist tend to stick with the KISS principle, emphasis on the 2nd S. Paranoia can be useful in some walks of life, but for most us, life is far better without it.
"I cant think of his name but there was an actor that tripped on the side walk in LA. he cracked his skull and was in a comma for some time."
People are always tripping up on Oxford commas but this is the first time I've heard of someone falling into one.
{Sorry couldn't resist. I do typos too, feel free to mock my next one.)
That these robots are slow, and obviously do not have very high-powered locomotion skills. And San Francisco is probably the hilliest big city I know of.
I wouldn't count on that kung pao chicken arriving in time for anything other than a bad case of food poisoning if you live in a neighborhood like Twin Peaks or Bernal Heights. And if you live in Noe Valley or the Mission, order from somewhere nearby, or you might see the robot bearing your pizza go skating past your place at 30 mph as it comes down off the surrounding hills.
I take it the design crew don't have kids.... dad can I go play with the delivery droids?
So unless your kids are boring I'd imagine hours of fun making them do stupid things and building them 'obstacle courses' and tinfoil hats - lasering their cameras - throwing cardboard boxes over them (eventually someone will add a match and some petrol to that idea) - before finally kidnap and subsequent destruction on a nearby bit of waste ground - probably involving improvised pyrotechnics made from fireworks.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
