Blood-red bot stalks the burbs armed with . . . groceries

Machines may soon be taking over the mean streets of suburban America . . . in the form of Dot by DoorDash. However, it'll be groceries and take-outs that it delivers rather than justice. The autonomous robot has been built by DoorDash Labs, the delivery company’s in-house automation and robotics developer. We're told it is …

[chivo243]

ED-209

+1 for the ED-209 reference! Gotta love that killing machine!

Sorry, he works for a lesser known government org, DoorBash*.

*Affiliated with all the well known three letter agencies.

[Gene Cash]

"enough to outpace the average human"

Around here, the average human would be going "PARTS!" and wielding a soldering iron...

[Steve Hersey]

Re: "enough to outpace the average human"

I was thinking more along the lines of a Guy Fawkes mask, an RF-blocking blanket, and a two-wheel hand cart for carry-away. Plus a screwdriver for battery removal.

[Wang Cores]

"Well son, Wall-E was such an inspiration to our people we had to make him real. Now say bye to Doordash!"

[Excused Boots]

""You don’t always need a full-sized car to deliver a tube of toothpaste or pack of diapers. That’s the insight behind Dot," said Stanley Tang, co-founder and head of DoorDash Labs.”

OK, look I’m confused here, does anyone ever, ever order a single tube of toothpaste, or a single pack of diapers’, and expect to to be delivered NOW!

Or does everyone just think, ‘ah we are out of diapers (nappies for those of us on the right side of the pond), so I’ll quickly order some online’, or ‘do we jump in the car, (give ourselves a mental kicking for not realising sooner) and go to the nearest supermarket, pharmacist etc.

No, I’m struggling to see the advantage here, except for the thermally lazy or incompetent!

[that one in the corner]

> the thermally lazy

will order a single box of Zip firelighters and, when the DashBot opens its friendly mouth, toss in a lit match: ta-da, a ready-made fireplace, on wheels, no less.

[spuck]

Yes, it doesn't solve every problem, but I'm sure it would have its uses.

Maybe I don't need them RIGHT NOW, but if I could click a button as I squeezed the last bit of toothpaste on my brush in the morning and had a replacement on the porch when I got home, that would be great. (Isn't that what Amazon was trying to build with their Dash buttons?)

As for diapers... with an infant at home sometimes leaving the house is just not an option. Having diapers delivered within a couple of hours might be a godsend with a colicky or sleeping baby.

I can just picture these little robots, running down the side of an 80 km/h highway at 20kmh, bringing us soggy takeaway tacos and room-temperature milk...

[chivo243]

How hard is it to buy two tubes? Plan ahead?

[The other JJ]

Amazon tried that with their 'dash button' but consumers baulked at paying about a tenner per product for a button to order something at an unknown price.

Maybe Alexa could do it? "It looks like you're trying to squeeze the last toothpaste out of that tube. Would you like me to order a new one?" Er...?

[werdsmith]

These things are not new, they have been tested in Starship form in Milton Keynes and other places for many years, and they did initially prove popular and very useful during covid.

But lately, the novelty has worn off and the number of retailers supporting them has dwindled and so has their use. They work with the Co-op (expensive to start with) the goods are at convenience store prices and there is a delivery charge on top. Now there is competition from the human delivery services, which are cheaper and uses a wider choices of retailers. Not to mention, the market for housebound people is limited.

My relations who live in MK order a starship delivery when they have visitors outside the city, just to demonstrate them, but that's the only reason.

[Roland6]

I get the distinct impression Doordash are copying Starship but Americanising/Disneyfying it.

Re: Starship: The fun I have had is looking out for the ones that have come off the pavement and are unable to get back up the kerb.

But you remind me, I’ve not seen any around (no any of the driverless trams/taxis) in my visits this summer.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Starship: The fun I have had is looking out for the ones that have come off the pavement and are unable to get back up the kerb.

OK, but that's inevitable with a UK robot design, you just know that it will have some Dalek elements.

:)

[Tom66]

Fact is that Starship around here (they've since discontinued the service in our town) was slower than -walking- to the convenience shop, and especially slower than driving. I think if you want to offer a service like that it has to be at least as convenient as the current fastest option and be competitive in price (<50p in petrol or electricity to and from the store). Steep challenge.

[Marty McFly]

Downward spiral

>" I’m struggling to see the advantage here, except for the thermally lazy or incompetent!

This drives a downward spiral for some people.

No money to 'stock up' on consumables like diapers or toothpaste. They know they will need them, it won't be magic potty training perfection and then Oops, they ended up with an extra case of surplus diapers.

So with limited funds they don't have diapers or toothpaste in stock. Thus they end up buying them 'last minute' and paying a premium price for DoorDash delivery. They are not getting Costco volume sizes at membership warehouse prices this way!

Thus they spend more money than needed....leading back to the problem of not having money to stock up.

This is a service in search of a problem which it will help create and perpetuate.

[Rivalroger]

small shops

Around 40 years ago I briefly had a job driving taxis in Taunton in Somerset and one night, a call came in to go to the all night garage and buy a pack of rizlas for one of the local stoners who also worked as a bouncer in the one nightclub.

Now, he would use one of these red things.

[John Brown (no body)]

"OK, look I’m confused here, does anyone ever, ever order a single tube of toothpaste, or a single pack of diapers’, and expect to to be delivered NOW!"

Why yes, of course they do. It's what Amazon and their ilk have taught people is possible and should expect.

There are most certainly some people, especially young singles, who live their lives that way today. Maybe living in a very small one room apartment with little to no storage, the barest of bare kitchens (and quite possibly no idea how to cook anyway other than heating stuff in a microwave) and use the local delivery companies/supermarkets as their "larder" and/or "fast food" delivery chef. (could also apply to less well off pensioners too!) These may well be the same people who rent everything and own nothing and moving house involves little more than a pull along suitcase and a back-pack.

[IGotOut]

Liability?

Given it "measures about one tenth the size of a car – can move at speeds of up to 32 kph, enough to outpace the average human." and will travel on pavements and cycle lanes,that's probably enough to a kill or mail a small child, you know the sort that will run out to see this cute lil robot.

So who will go to prison when this happens?

Silly me, no one, just a fine of 1 hours profit with no acceptance of liability.

[that one in the corner]

Re: Liability?

> that's probably enough to ... mail a small child

Harking back to little James Beagle's trip by Post. Although, hmm, not sure DoorDash operates as a general delivery service: maybe they'd only agree to carry a freshly-made infant?

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Liability?

Looking back at the recent story: how does it cope with level crossings?

[werdsmith]

Re: Liability?

They use curated routes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Great for people with mobility issues

Everyone else, get off your ass and go to the shop!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Great for people with mobility issues

"Everyone else, get off your ass and go to the shop!"

I would except the centre (mall) management take issue with my tethering a donkey outside the entrance.

What is it with the left pond that they don't have an arse or bum to actually get off but insert a donkey or moke instead ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Great for people with mobility issues

If you have to insert a donkey to get off, you're doing it wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

One Question ...

Is it self righting ?

If not it will be a pushover for those in the "midnight spares" game – I imagine the battery alone would be worth "harvesting.";)

Should these become commonplace, drug dealers and peddlers of other contraband could deploy replica devices to deliver their products. Or deliver high explosives to their competition (with prejudice.)

[imanidiot]

right... Good luck with that in the US

"travel on bike lanes, roads, side walks, and driveways"

So... Roads and maybe sidewalks here and there for the majority of time knowing how US cities are usually laid out. US cities are famously unfriendly to anything but car traffic. Something like this would work a lot better in places like the Netherlands that actually have walking and cycling infrastructure, but then if I need anything from the shops it's a 2 minute walk. 5 if I'm less mobile. So something like this would be DOA too. And they're competing against bicycles with a human rider who can do a lot of the logistics at the distribution point for quicker turnarounds (and those companies are struggling already too and will likely/hopefully die off as soon as any sort of economic hard times hit again).

[APro]

Won't work in the UK either.

It's hard enough to walk along a street here, let alone the poor souls with wheelchairs or pushchairs, and rolling robots definitely won't get a look in.

The pavements (sidewalks to left-pondians) have one or more of the following problems:

-Being dug up, so signs point to use the road, or opposite pavement if there is one.

-On the verge of collapsing into a pothole, or the realms of hell - take your pick.

-Have cars parked across them - into the road you go.

-Broken flagstones that need to be stepped over to avoid tripping - not quite high jump territory, but enough to stop most relying on wheels to move about.

-Missing paving blocks - "Major Trip Hazard reporting!"

-Uncut hedges or wild vegetation covering them - where's my Machete!

-Random dog, or even cat, excrement - I hate cats, and dog owners who don't pick up their shit!!!

-E-bikes blocking them - within certain cities, thankfully not many - even skip companies won't take them 'cause of the dodgy batteries!!!

-Wheelie-bins blocking them - put them in the front garden!

-Rubbish from tipped over wheelie bins - damned school kids!

-Rubbish/recycling bags - initally closed, but ripped open by foxes, or cats!!!

-Stolen shopping carts that haven't quite made it the nearest water course.

-Stubborn "disabled" or old people on their electric mobility scooters that won't move over for anyone or anything, even others of their ilk. Seeing two face off is beyond funny!!!

-Flooded with puddles that would make Lake Windermere look small due to poor or blocked drainage - need a canoe to get to the shops.

So if I was a robot of even the simplest intelligence, i'd just set myself on fire. It's no use trying to help civilisation as we know it now.

[anthonyhegedus]

Re: Won't work in the UK either.

downvote because you said you hate cats. That's all.

[SamanthaFA]

Re: Won't work in the UK either.

downvoting you back ;p)

cats are vermin

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Won't work in the UK either.

Allow me to contribute with this timely cartoon.

:)

[Simon Harris]

Re: Won't work in the UK either.

"Wheelie-bins blocking them - put them in the front garden!"

Our bin-men don't collect them unless we move them from the inside of our garden wall to the outside onto the pavement. Since they arrive at some random time between 5am and 10am, that means putting them out the night before and often bringing them back in after work the next day.

[GlenP]

As per an earlier post similar units are in operation in the UK and have been for several years. Most of the doom and gloom hasn't happened but the reality is once they lost their novelty value they've been little used.

There are a couple of genuine issues I have seen or experienced:

It stopping half way down the street (due to the strange numbering) just out of WiFi range in an area with a poor mobile signal so you can't open it (had to have one person at the house doing the opening via the app and another to take the shopping out).

One sat very forlorn looking at a pedestrian crossing, waiting for someone to press the button for it to cross.

[Jellied Eel]

There are a couple of genuine issues I have seen or experienced:

I still see them trundling around. Biggest disappointment was the lil Starship trundlebots weren't starships. So no <bang> of displaced air as they drop out of warp to deliver me a toothbrush, towel, peanuts and 7 pints of beer. Which was another issue, ie things I might want to get from Co-Op but not carry home myself (24 cans of beer and a packet of peanuts) wouldn't fit inside it. Which was also a cost issue, ie premium prices charged for Starship delivery and the delivery cost itself ended up very expensive when it could only carry a few items.

Or they partnered with DHL or DPD. So I got an email saying a new mobile phone was on its way and they'd texted the PIN I'd need to open the Starship to the mobile phone that was locked inside it. So I ended up on the phone to mobile operator, watching the poor lil trundlebot sitting forlornly outside. Person on the helldesk didn't grasp why there was a slight snag with their delivery process.

Curious how they'll work in the US given from my own experience, Doordash is often for delivery of food, and distances between take-out and hungry person are often greater. Plus same volume limitations, so can they deliver 4x 36" pizzas and 5 gallon MegaGulp drinks to a customer who lives on takeouts and is now too morbidly obese to fit through their doors. Plus the land of porch pirates might just end up with a new form of highway robbery to try.

[KayJ]

Not kerbs nor bicycles nor inquisitive small dogs can stay these bots from their trundles round.

[breakfast]

Medium or large dogs might be a problem, though. Is the bot farmer going to show up with his shotgun if someone's dog keeps worrying his delivery bots?

It will be a long time before we see anything like this outside of town, which is probably just as well - it would be a source of terror to horses and a donkey would absolutely devastate it.

[David Hicklin]

C5

So an updated , driverless Sinclair C5 just waiting to be squashed flat by an HGV

[Reginald O.]

Cute, but...

Probably not going to work. AI driverless tech simply isn't smart enough to handle real-world transport conditions yet. Might work inside a big office to deliver office supplies, mail, even your lunch from the cafeteria.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Cute, but...

Yeah, those wheels don't look big enough to handle kerbs. How is it going to cross the road? Or does the US have dropped kerbs at EVERY junction? (Oh Noes! DEI waste, cancel any new plans!) Assuming dropped kerbs, how does it cross a busy street if it can't trigger the crossing lights? As per the UK experience, it's like a university student project where they only took into account the conditions on a dedicated park-like campus and not the real world. You could say "well, they have to start somewhere", but as we've learned from driverless cars, the the easy bit, the first 60-70% , is, well, easy. But once you start taking into account the normal, real world, it becomes very, very hard, if not impossible with current tech.

A human driver or rider can cope with pretty much every situation and still make the delivery. The robot will only ever be able to cope with 80-90% of situations and if your delivery is in that excepted 10-20%, they will never accept you as a customer. From a business POV, they don't care so long as the core market makes money. From a societal POV, it's another divide of haves and have nots.

[anthonyhegedus]

Perhaps that'll stem the current influx of illegal immigrants who seem to partake in renting out their phones to each other so that they can work illegally for the delivery companies.

[Simon Harris]

Henry.

Did they just look at a Henry Hoover, and say 'we want something a bit like this'?

[Daedalus]

Great for the old fogies

I can see these contraptions working in those gated retirement communities that are springing up all over the place in the USA these days. With nothing bigger than a golf cart to contend with, no kids and few pets larger than a Chihuahua, these bots will have no trouble dropping off sanitary supplies and even medications to the Zimmer frame crowd. They could even double as security, as if having a camera on every lamp post isn't enough.

[Marty McFly]

Re: Great for the old fogies

Does that explain why Tempe & Mesa Arizona are the test markets?

[Joe Gurman]

Can't wait for the hilarity that will ensue....

....should DD deploy these in my neighborhood: the young, stupid males with minimally souped-up cars with abnormally loud exhausts who like to vroom-vroom and screech-screech on the public roads will no doubt compete to see who can punt the red blobs the farthest.

[Irongut]

Legs

"You don’t always need a full-sized car to deliver..."

But you do need legs to get up the stairs to my flat and if I have to come down myself I'm not buying from you again because you did not complete the delivery correctly.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Legs

.. and I'm guessing adding a delivery cannon may lead to more kidnapping for, er, 'alternative' use :).

[ravenviz]

How about people actually get off their butts and go out for groceries?!

Hell, they might even get healthier!

[The Organ Grinder's Monkey]

Lidar?

Does that mean that it's more aware of its surroundings than a Tesla?