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Delivery robot
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A delivery robot is an autonomous robot that provides "last mile" delivery services. Delivery robots have been used in food delivery, package delivery, hospital delivery, and room service.[1][2]
An operator may monitor and take control of the robot remotely in certain situations that the robot cannot resolve by itself, such as when it is stuck in an obstacle.
Applications
[edit]Food delivery
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Deployments of food delivery robots were in a small scale prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] By January 2019, there were some deployments on United States college campuses. George Mason University became the first university campus that incorporated on-demand food deliveries by robots as part of its meal plan with 25 robot fleet from Starship Technologies.[4] As the pandemic continued on, demands for food deliveries had increased significantly. This caused the demands for food delivery robots in college campuses to surge as well.[3] Starship and other companies such as Kiwibot deployed hundreds of food delivery robots to several college campuses and some city streets in the United States and United Kingdom. Food delivery service companies also added delivery robots to their platform. For example, Grubhub partnered with Yandex to provide services in colleges, while Uber Eats partnered with Serve Robotics, Motional, Cartken, and Avride for robot food delivery in various cities in the United States.[5][6] Also, Yandex uses self-development Yandex Rover delivery robots for its delivery service Ā«Yandex EatsĀ» and Ā«Yandex ShopĀ» (Russian: ŠÆŠ½Š“ŠµŠŗŃ ŠŠ°Š²ŠŗŠ°, romanized: Yandeks Lavka) in a number of Russian cities since 2019.[7] Limitations of using food delivery robots includes inability to accommodate special delivery requests such as leaving the food at the door, and inability to navigate difficult terrains. This may require remote operators to help the robots to navigate around obstacles.[3]
Grocery delivery
[edit]
In April 2018, Starship Technologies launched its groceries delivery service in Milton Keynes, England, in partnership with supermarket chains Co-op and Tesco.[8] By November 2020, said Starship Technologies, Milton Keynes had the "world's largest autonomous robot fleet".[9]
Early 2022 saw the opening of Nourish + Bloom, the first African American-owned autonomous grocery store in the world. The new store processes transactions using computer vision equipment in tandem with artificial intelligence-based voice and gesture technology. Nourish + Bloom offers delivery service using robotic vehicles supplied by Daxbot.[10] That startup, which is based in Philomath, Oregon, and raising investments through a crowdfunding campaign, has developed a unit that can travel up to 10 miles at 4 mph and has a temperature-controlled cargo space.[11]
Package delivery
[edit]In 2019, Amazon launched an experiment to deliver small packages to their Amazon Prime customers using delivery robots called Amazon Scout. The test was done in Seattle region of the United States and expanded to Irvine, California, Atlanta, and Franklin, Tennessee.[12] In 2021, after testing of package delivery robots had been done in 4 U.S. cities, Amazon created a new development center in Finland to make further advancement in the technology in order for their robots to better handle real-life navigations.[13] The company cancelled Amazon Scout in 2023.[14]
Hospital delivery
[edit]Delivery robots can perform several tasks in hospital settings to reduce operational costs. The first set of tasks are for food, medical specimens, and medicine deliveries. With multiple sensors, the delivery robots can navigate the interior layout of the hospitals. They also have an electronic signal that can request an elevator ride to be able to work in multi-story buildings. With security concerns, some delivery robots are equipped with code and a biometric fingerprint scan to prevent unauthorized access to the contents inside the robots. As of 2019[update] there were more than 150 hospitals in the United States and elsewhere that deployed the delivery robots. The second set of tasks is to deliver soiled linen carts and medical waste. These requires heavy duty delivery robots as the weights to carry could be in several hundred pounds (several hundred kilograms).[15][16]
In Israel, Sheba Medical Center uses delivery robots to shuttle chemotherapy drugs prepared by the pharmacy department directly to the nurses to cut down the waiting time.[17]
Room service
[edit]In late 2014, a room service robot named Relay was introduced by a robotics startup company, Savioke. When hotel staff received an order from a guest, the staff would put items inside Relay and the robot would deliver items to the guest room. By 2016, fleets of Relay robots were deployed at five major hotel chains.[18] In August 2017, M Social hotel in Singapore introduced room service robots named AURA to assist staff in tasks such as delivering bottled water and towels to guest rooms. It was the first such service outside of the United States.[19]
Infrastructure inspection
[edit]Sidewalk disruptions and the slope of access ramps are being inspected and reported by a Daxbot robot.[20]
Companies
[edit]Sidewalk robots
[edit]A number of companies are actively using small robots to do the last-mile delivery of small packages such as food and groceries just using the pedestrian areas of the road and travelling at speed comparable with a fast walking pace, companies actively delivering include:
- Starship Technologies: by June 2023 had completed over 5 million commercial autonomous deliveries with their fleet of 2,000 autonomous robots. [21]
- Amazon Scout: as of October 2022, Amazon is no longer testing their robots in the field as the project is being reoriented.[22]
- Hyundai Motor Group: on December 13, 2022, HMG announced that it had developed a delivery service robot based on electrification and autonomous driving technology.[citation needed]
Drones
[edit]- Zipline: fixed-wing UAVs delivering medicine and blood supplies via parachute drops; by June 2022 they had made 325,000 deliveries.
Human interaction
[edit]Being autonomous, the delivery robots primarily interact with the general public without the assistance of a human operator, in both positive and negative encounters.[23] The delivery robot manufacturer Starship Technologies has reported that people kick their robots.[23] However, the vast majority of human interactions are positive, and many people have anthropomorphized the robots due to their appearance.[24] This has led to encounters where people feel a sense of caring towards the robots, assisting the robots when they are stuck, worrying for the robots on their journeys, or praising or thanking robots for their delivery service.[24]
In the 2022 monograph Road to Nowhere, technology journalist Paris Marx criticizes the deployment of delivery robots on sidewalks, relating instances of robots causing problems for disabled people and noting more widespread opposition from pedestrian and transportation advocates.[25][26]
References
[edit]- ^ Srinivas, Sharan; Ramachandiran, Surya; Rajendran, Suchithra (2022). "Autonomous robot-driven deliveries: A review of recent developments and future directions". Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 165 102834. Bibcode:2022TRPE..16502834S. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2022.102834.
- ^ Leerkamp, Bert; Soteropoulos, Aggelos; Berger, Martin (2023). "Delivery robots as a solution for the last mile in the city?". AVENUE21. Planning and Policy Considerations for an Age of Automated Mobility. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Vieweg. pp. 107ā128. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-67004-0_7. ISBN 978-3-662-67004-0.
- ^ a b c Durbin, Dee-Ann (November 2, 2021). "Robots hit the streets as demand for food delivery grows". The Associated Press. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Holley, Peter (January 22, 2019). "George Mason students have a new dining option: Food delivered by robots". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Bellon, Tina (May 16, 2022). "Uber launches robot food delivery in California". Reuters. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Paris, Martine (December 16, 2022). "Uber Eats Deploys Sidewalk Delivery Robots In Miami And Robotaxis In Vegas Just In Time For CES". Forbes. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ "ŠŠ°ŠŗŠ°Š· Š²ŠµŠ·ŃŃ Ā«ŠÆŠ½Š“ŠµŠŗŃ.Š Š¾Š²ŠµŃĀ» ā Š¢ŃŠ°Š½ŃŠæŠ¾ŃŃ Š½Š° vc.ru". vc.ru. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023.
- ^ Farrell, Steve (April 1, 2019). "Co-op expands robot deliveries to second store". The Grocer. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Milton Keynes now has 'world's largest autonomous robot fleet' as Starship expand further". MKFM (Press release). Starship Technologies. May 30, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ "Inside the first Black-owned autonomous grocery store". NBC News. February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ Silverstein, Sam (February 3, 2022). "Retail startup opens first frictionless grocery store, eyes 500 more". Grocery Dive. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ Brown, Dalvin (July 22, 2020). "Meet Scout: Amazon is taking its Prime Delivery Robots to the South". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Shead, Sam (July 1, 2021). "Amazon plans to build delivery robot tech in Finland ę¾å±". CNBC. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ "Jiahao Lim on LinkedIn: It's been a week since Amazon Scout was canceled. I've worked on Scoutā¦ | 21 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
- ^ Chang, Althea (April 30, 2015). "Pricy robots 'Tug' hospital supplies". CNBC. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Weiner, Stacy (July 12, 2019). "Robots make the rounds". Association of American Medical Colleges. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Jeffay, Nathan (July 9, 2012). "Drug-delivery robots deployed at Israel's largest hospital to cut chemo wait". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Nichols, Greg (January 14, 2016). "This room service robot is gaining ground in the world's posh hotels". ZDNet. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Street, Francesca (August 15, 2017). "Introducing AURA, the room service robot". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Thang, Jennifer; Yost, Chip (September 4, 2025). "A California city has hired adorable robots to do its dirty work". KTLA.
- ^ Mukherjee, Supantha (June 21, 2023). "Estonia's Bolt, Starship in food delivery robot deal". Reuters. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ Vincent, James (October 7, 2022). "Amazon stops field tests of its delivery robot Scout". The Verge. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Hamilton, Isobel Asher. "People kicking these food delivery robots is an early insight into how cruel humans could be to robots". Business Insider. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ a b "Why You Want to Pet the Food Delivery Robot". Bon AppƩtit. October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ Marx, Paris (2022). "The Coming Fight for the Sidewalk". Road to Nowhere. Verso.
- ^ Kelly, Laura; Dimitrijevic, Sophie (August 10, 2022). "Here's why we shouldn't leave the future of transport to Silicon Valley". Big Issue.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Delivery robots at Wikimedia Commons
Delivery robot
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History
Early Concepts and Prototypes
The concept of autonomous delivery robots for last-mile logistics drew from foundational work in mobile robotics, including early autonomous vehicles like William Grey Walter's tortoise robots in 1948, which demonstrated basic navigation and obstacle avoidance using simple sensors and analog circuits.[10] However, dedicated prototypes tailored for urban or sidewalk-based package transport emerged primarily in academic and startup contexts during the early 2010s, motivated by rising e-commerce demands and advances in computer vision, GPS, and battery technology.[11] In 2011, researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) developed initial prototypes and simulations for an "urban express robotic delivery network," envisioning swarms of small, packet-switched robots operating in parallel on sidewalks to handle intra-city goods transport, with emphasis on user interaction studies rather than full autonomy.[12] This work highlighted challenges like human-robot coexistence in pedestrian areas and scalable routing algorithms, laying groundwork for later systems without achieving commercial viability at the time. Starship Technologies, founded on July 3, 2014, produced the first functional prototype of a sidewalk delivery robot just one month later in August 2014, featuring six wheels, onboard cameras for obstacle detection, and a payload capacity for small packages or groceries within a 2-3 mile range.[13] The design prioritized low-speed navigation (up to 6 mph) on shared paths, using machine learning for real-time mapping, and represented an early shift toward commercial scalability, with initial testing focused on safety and reliability in controlled environments.[14] Concurrent developments included experimental platforms like Andi Zaugg's sidewalk delivery robot prototype around 2009, a basic wheeled unit tested for payload transport on pedestrian paths, though it remained non-commercial and limited in autonomy.[15] These early efforts underscored persistent hurdles such as regulatory approval for public roads, vulnerability to weather, and integration with existing logistics, with prototypes often relying on teleoperation as a fallback rather than full independence.[16]Initial Commercial Pilots (2010s)
Starship Technologies conducted the earliest documented commercial pilots for autonomous sidewalk delivery robots in the mid-2010s, beginning with trials in partnership with local businesses for food and package deliveries. On September 21, 2016, a Starship robot completed its first autonomous delivery in San Francisco, California, transporting items short distances on sidewalks as part of a pilot program involving campus and urban testing.[17] Shortly thereafter, in November 2016, Starship launched a nine-month pilot in Redwood City, California, deploying personal delivery devices (PDDs) to test operational feasibility in residential and commercial areas, with evaluations planned to assess continuation based on performance metrics like safety and efficiency.[18] By early 2017, these efforts expanded to the East Coast, where a fleet of approximately 20 Starship robots began hyper-local deliveries in Washington, D.C., primarily carrying food orders from campus cafes to students and staff over distances under two miles, marking one of the first public-facing integrations with on-demand services.[19] Similar pilots occurred in the United Kingdom around the same period, including initial deployments in Milton Keynes for grocery deliveries via a dedicated app, focusing on controlled environments to refine navigation amid pedestrian traffic and regulatory hurdles. These 2016-2017 initiatives emphasized low-speed (up to 6 mph), sensor-equipped robots with capacities for 20-50 pounds of payload, prioritizing safety through remote monitoring and geofencing.[13] While these pilots demonstrated technical viability for last-mile logisticsāreducing human labor in urban settingsāthey faced limitations such as regulatory approvals, public skepticism over sidewalk congestion, and scalability issues in unstructured environments, with operations confined to predefined zones.[20] By late 2018, Starship transitioned some pilots to commercial services, such as public package deliveries in San Francisco starting October 31, involving app-based summoning from sorting facilities, but the foundational 2010s trials laid groundwork for broader adoption.[21] Other entrants, like Amazon's Scout robots, initiated employee-focused grocery pilots in Snohomish County, Washington, in 2019, testing boxy, cooler-equipped units for suburban routes, though these built directly on Starship's precedent rather than pioneering commercial use.[22]Scaling and Advancements (2020-2025)
The period from 2020 to 2025 marked significant scaling in delivery robot deployments, driven by heightened demand for contactless services during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent investments in autonomous technology. Companies expanded from initial pilots on campuses and controlled environments to broader urban operations, with global market valuations reflecting rapid growth; for instance, the delivery robots market was projected to increase from USD 592.8 million in 2024 to USD 3,236.5 million by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 40%.[1] Autonomous delivery robots specifically were estimated at USD 728.3 million in 2025, expanding at a 26.6% CAGR through 2032.[23] Starship Technologies achieved substantial advancements, completing over 9 million autonomous deliveries by October 2025āfive times more than competitorsāand securing a $50 million Series C funding round to transition from college campuses to urban U.S. markets like San Francisco.[24][25] The company expanded partnerships, including with foodora in Europe in June 2025, enabling robot delivery across multiple cities.[26] Nuro progressed toward driverless operations, logging 1.4 million autonomous miles with zero at-fault incidents by 2025, bolstered by a 2022 ten-year partnership with Uber Eats for deployments in California and Texas, and a $106 million funding round in April 2025 valuing the firm at $6 billion.[27][28] Serve Robotics demonstrated rapid fleet scaling, deploying its 1,000th third-generation robot in October 2025 after producing units since October 2024, with plans to reach 2,000 by year-end across major U.S. cities.[29] Advancements in its Gen3 models included enhanced speed, extended range, and safety features like 40% faster emergency braking and autonomous collision avoidance.[30] The company reported nearly 80% quarter-over-quarter delivery volume growth in Q2 2025, launching in Atlanta and preparing for Chicago, alongside a October 2025 integration with DoorDash.[31][32] Regulatory frameworks evolved to support scaling, with approximately 23 U.S. states permitting delivery robot operations by 2025, though inconsistent state-level bills created deployment challenges.[33][6] These developments enabled thousands of monthly robot additions globally, transforming last-mile logistics amid ongoing improvements in AI-driven navigation and operational efficiency.[34]Technology
Design and Types
Delivery robots are compact, autonomous ground vehicles engineered for navigating pedestrian environments such as sidewalks, campuses, and urban paths, prioritizing low speed, obstacle avoidance, and secure payload containment. Typical designs incorporate a rugged chassis made from lightweight composites and metals to withstand weather exposure and minor impacts, with dimensions often under 1 meter in height and width to fit through doorways and avoid pedestriansā for instance, the Starship Technologies robot measures approximately 0.6 m tall and weighs 23 kg empty.[35] They feature insulated or locked compartments for temperature-sensitive goods, battery-powered propulsion for zero-emission operation, and modular tops for branding or additional sensors, consuming energy equivalent to boiling a single cup of tea per delivery.[36] Wheeled configurations dominate designs due to their efficiency on flat or mildly uneven terrain, utilizing four to six rubber-treaded wheels for stability and speeds up to 6 km/h. These robots support payloads of 5-35 kg, suitable for groceries or small packages, as seen in models like the Kiwibot, which handles up to 15 kg in a cylindrical form factor.[37] Advanced variants include elevator-compatible systems with robotic arms or interfaces to summon and enter lifts autonomously, enabling multi-floor deliveries in buildings.[38] Emerging hybrid wheeled-legged types address limitations of pure wheels on curbs, stairs, or rough surfaces, combining wheels for efficient traversal with extendable legs for elevation changes up to 85 kg payloads. Examples include the LEVA robot, which uses legged suspension for high-mobility logistics across varied terrains, and the RIVR model piloted by Just Eat in 2025, integrating legs for doorstep access beyond sidewalk constraints.[39][40] Purely legged designs remain rare for delivery due to higher energy demands and complexity, though research prototypes demonstrate potential for unstructured environments.[41] Larger industrial variants, like the Pudu T600, scale up to 600 kg payloads on wheeled bases for warehouse or campus use but diverge from urban last-mile focus.[42]Navigation, Sensors, and Autonomy
Delivery robots rely on multimodal sensor suites to perceive their surroundings, including cameras for visual object recognition, LiDAR for 3D mapping and distance measurement, radar for detecting motion and weather-resistant ranging, ultrasonic sensors for close-range obstacle detection, and inertial measurement units (IMUs) for orientation and acceleration tracking.[43][44] GPS modules provide global positioning, often fused with wheel encoders to correct for drift in urban environments where satellite signals may weaken under foliage or buildings.[45] These sensors enable real-time environmental modeling, with fusion algorithms integrating data streams to reduce false positives from individual modalities, such as distinguishing pedestrians from static curbs via complementary radar and camera inputs.[46] Navigation systems in delivery robots combine global path planning with local reactive control. High-level routing uses GPS waypoints precomputed against digital maps, while low-level autonomy employs Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) techniquesāeither LiDAR-based for structured point clouds or visual SLAM leveraging camera feedsāto build dynamic occupancy grids for sidewalk or roadway traversal.[47][48] For instance, Starship Technologies' platforms achieve sub-inch localization accuracy through computer vision augmented by GPS, allowing navigation around dynamic obstacles like bicycles or low-light conditions at speeds up to 6 mph (10 km/h).[45][49] Nuro's driverless vehicles, designed for street-level operations, incorporate long-range imaging radar alongside LiDAR to estimate object depths beyond 100 meters, supporting highway merging and pedestrian crossing at SAE Level 4 autonomy in geofenced areas.[50][51] Autonomy is powered by onboard edge computing stacks running machine learning models for perception, prediction, and planning. Convolutional neural networks process camera and LiDAR data to classify obstacles (e.g., humans, vehicles, debris) with over 99% accuracy in controlled tests, feeding into behavior trees or reinforcement learning policies for trajectory optimization.[49][52] However, full unsupervised operation remains limited; many deployments, including Starship's, integrate remote teleoperation for edge cases like construction zones, where human intervention resolves ambiguities in sensor data fusion, occurring in less than 1% of trips per operational logs.[53] Nuro's stack, validated over 1.4 million autonomous miles with zero at-fault incidents as of 2024, emphasizes modular hardware for scalability but still confines operations to mapped domains to mitigate uncertainties in unstructured environments.[27] Causal factors in autonomy failures often trace to sensor occlusions or unmodeled dynamics, underscoring reliance on redundant sensing and conservative planning to prioritize safety over speed.[54]Payload Capacity and Operational Limits
Payload capacities for ground-based delivery robots vary by design and intended use, with sidewalk-navigating models typically limited to 5-20 kg to maintain stability and compliance with pedestrian safety standards. For instance, Starship Technologies' robots accommodate up to 10 kg, suitable for small grocery orders or meals.[55] Kiwibot models support 15 kg payloads, enabling delivery of campus meals or light packages within geofenced areas.[56] Larger street-operating robots, such as Nuro's R2, achieve 190 kg capacities for bulkier loads like multiple grocery bags.[57] These limits stem from structural integrity requirements, battery constraints, and regulatory approvals prioritizing low-risk operations over heavy hauling.[58] Operational speeds are capped at 4-6 mph (6.4-9.6 km/h) for sidewalk robots to minimize collision risks with pedestrians and obstacles, as seen in Starship's designs.[59] Nuro's vehicles reach 25 mph (40 km/h) on roads but remain below human driver speeds for safety.[57] Range is constrained by battery life, often 2-5 miles (3-8 km) per charge under typical loads, necessitating frequent recharging or docking stations.[60] Terrain limitations exclude stairs, steep inclines, or unpaved surfaces, confining operations to flat, mapped urban sidewalks or streets.[61] Weather tolerance differs by model; Starship robots function in all conditions, including rain, via weatherproofing and adaptive sensors.[36] However, extreme snow, ice, or flooding can impair traction and visibility, leading to operational pauses in northern climates.[62] Regulatory hurdles, such as geofencing and remote monitoring mandates, further restrict deployment to approved zones, often within 1-2 km radii from hubs.[63]| Robot Model | Payload Capacity | Max Speed | Typical Range | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship | 10 kg | 6.4 km/h | ~5 km | Sidewalks only; pedestrian areas[55][59] |
| Kiwibot | 15 kg | ~6 km/h | Campus-limited | Geofenced flat terrain[56][61] |
| Nuro R2 | 190 kg | 40 km/h | Road-dependent | Street-legal; bulkier form factor[57] |
Applications
Food and Grocery Delivery
Autonomous delivery robots have been deployed for food and grocery services primarily in urban and campus environments, focusing on short-distance last-mile transport to minimize delivery times and maintain product freshness. These robots typically operate on sidewalks or low-speed roads, carrying payloads of 5-20 kg suitable for individual orders, with insulated compartments to preserve temperature for hot meals or chilled groceries. By October 2025, companies like Starship Technologies have completed over 9 million such deliveries, primarily food and small grocery items, across U.S. cities, campuses, and international locations, demonstrating scalability with a fleet of 2,700 units.[64] Starship Technologies partners with platforms like Uber Eats and local retailers for hot food delivery, such as pizzas and meals, emphasizing rapid transit at speeds up to 6 km/h to ensure meals arrive warm. For groceries, their robots handle orders from supermarkets, transporting items like milk and bread in secure, weather-resistant pods, with operations scaled through integrations that avoid human couriers during peak hours. The company raised $50 million in October 2025 to expand to 12,000 robots by 2027, targeting broader U.S. adoption for both sectors.[49] [65] Serve Robotics focuses on food delivery via sidewalk robots, partnering with Uber Eats since May 2025 and DoorDash in October 2025 to fulfill orders in Los Angeles, with plans for national expansion. Collaborations include Little Caesars for pizza delivery through Uber Eats, leveraging AI for navigation in pedestrian areas to deliver hot items efficiently. By October 2025, Serve deployed its 1,000th robot, aiming for 2,000 by year-end, highlighting growth in urban food logistics.[66] [67] [68] Nuro's road-capable vehicles support grocery delivery, as seen in partnerships with Kroger since 2019, using electric pods with dual compartments holding up to 500 pounds or 24 grocery bags. These robots operate driverless on public roads in areas like Houston, maintaining zero at-fault incidents over 1.4 million autonomous miles by 2025, suitable for larger grocery loads requiring temperature control.[69] [27] DoorDash introduced its Dot robot in September 2025, integrated with its autonomous platform for local food and grocery fulfillment, accelerating deployments in partnership with robot operators to enhance commerce efficiency. The global autonomous food delivery robot market reached $14.74 billion in 2025, driven by such applications.[70] [71]Package and E-commerce Delivery
Autonomous delivery robots for package and e-commerce applications primarily target last-mile logistics, navigating sidewalks or low-speed roads to transport small parcels from distribution hubs or retail outlets to consumers, often within urban or campus settings limited to 1-5 miles. These systems aim to reduce delivery costs, which can account for up to 50% of e-commerce logistics expenses, while enabling contactless handoffs via app-unlocked compartments. Deployments have accelerated since 2020, driven by e-commerce growth exceeding 20% annually in the U.S., with robots handling payloads typically under 20 kg to suit lightweight packages like electronics, apparel, and consumer goods.[72][73] Starship Technologies launched the world's first commercial autonomous package delivery service in October 2018, initially deploying hundreds of sidewalk robots for short-distance parcel transport on campuses and in select neighborhoods, integrating with e-commerce platforms for peer-to-peer and retailer-to-consumer shipments. By 2025, Starship's fleet operates across the U.S., UK, and Europe, completing millions of deliveries annually, with robots equipped for multiple stops and capable of carrying up to 20 kg in secure, weatherproof compartments; the company reports over 99% autonomy rates in operational zones.[74][49][36] Nuro's pod-like vehicles, optimized for goods rather than passengers, have focused on e-commerce partnerships, including a 2021 pilot with FedEx in Houston for multi-stop, appointment-based package deliveries using Level 4 autonomy on predefined routes. Nuro expanded collaborations with retailers like Walmart for on-demand parcel services, leveraging AI for dynamic routing; in August 2025, the company secured $203 million in funding to scale commercial operations, achieving a $6 billion valuation amid partnerships with Uber and NVIDIA for enhanced sensor fusion in package handling.[75][76][77] FedEx has tested robot integrations for e-commerce last-mile, unveiling the Roxo autonomous bot in 2019 for local package drops and partnering with Nuro for urban pilots; in July 2025, FedEx deployed QuikBot robots in Singapore for floor-to-floor commercial deliveries, targeting high-density e-commerce zones with AI navigation to handle up to 50 kg payloads in multi-unit buildings. These efforts complement broader industry trends, where U.S. last-mile robot markets reached $500 million by 2025, though scalability remains constrained by regulatory approvals and infrastructure needs in non-campus areas.[78][79][72]Medical and Institutional Delivery
Autonomous delivery robots in medical settings transport medications, laboratory specimens, patient supplies, and equipment within hospitals and clinics, reducing the time staff spend on repetitive logistics and minimizing exposure risks during infectious outbreaks. These robots typically navigate predefined indoor paths using sensors and maps, integrating with hospital systems for secure access to restricted areas like pharmacies and isolation rooms. Empirical evaluations, such as those in isolation-room scenarios, have shown nurses rating the robots as highly usable for remote supply and medication delivery, with completion times comparable to human couriers but without fatigue-related errors.[80][81] Prominent implementations include Aethon's TUG robots, which autonomously move items between departments in healthcare facilities, and Relay Robotics' Spencer model, deployed for transporting inpatient samples to oncology clinics and pharmacies. In July 2023, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center introduced three TUG robots specifically for pharmacy-to-inpatient medication delivery in its new Patient Pavilion, reporting enhanced speed and safety by avoiding manual handling errors. Diligent Robotics' Moxi robot, operational in over 20 U.S. hospitals by 2023, handles non-patient tasks like fetching lab samples and supplies, freeing nurses for direct care and reportedly saving up to an hour per shift per staff member based on pilot data. A June 2024 prototype, Medbot, enables 24/7 secure medication transport from hospital pharmacies to bedside using autonomous navigation, with initial tests demonstrating reduced delivery delays and costs in controlled environments.[82][83][84] In institutional contexts beyond acute care, such as residential elderly facilities and pathology labs, delivery robots support routine transports of specimens and forms, with case studies from 2021 indicating improved acceptability and functionality in real-world operations, particularly where staff shortages limit manual deliveries. These applications extend to university campuses, where robots like Starship Technologies' models handle on-demand item transport across facilities, though primarily for food and groceries rather than medical supplies; however, their scalability suggests potential for institutional medical logistics in educational health centers. Challenges include integration with legacy infrastructure and ensuring reliability in dynamic environments, as evidenced by studies emphasizing the need for robust error-handling to maintain 99% uptime in healthcare-critical paths.[85][86][87][88]Major Companies and Deployments
Ground-Based Robot Operators
Starship Technologies operates one of the largest fleets of autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, focusing on short-range transport of food, groceries, and small parcels using wheeled vehicles equipped with AI navigation, cameras, and sensors. Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, the company reported completing over 9 million deliveries by October 2025 with a fleet exceeding 2,700 robots.[64] Deployments span more than 50 U.S. college campuses, including George Mason University and California Polytechnic State University, as well as urban neighborhoods in the UK and Estonia, where robots handle thousands of daily trips with 99% autonomy.[89][90] Serve Robotics, a spin-off from Uber established in 2021, deploys AI-powered, low-emission sidewalk robots backed by Nvidia, optimized for food delivery in partnership with platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash. By October 2025, Serve had deployed its 1,000th robot and expanded operations to 14 Chicago neighborhoods, building on initial launches in Los Angeles that integrated with Uber Eats for customer orders.[91][92] The robots operate on pedestrian paths, using computer vision and machine learning to navigate urban environments while reducing delivery costs compared to human couriers.[66][93] On January 20, 2026, Serve announced the acquisition of Diligent Robotics, completed on January 27, 2026, for $29 million in Serve common stock plus up to $5.3 million earn-out, to expand its autonomy platform into indoor healthcare environments using Diligent's Moxi robots for hospital delivery tasks.[94] KiwiBot specializes in semi-autonomous wheeled robots for campus-based food delivery, allowing users to order via apps like Grubhub for transport from dining facilities to locations across university grounds. Deployments include the University of North Dakota, where robots use GPS and cameras for navigation, and Arkansas State University, which introduced 15 units in August 2024 to serve residences and buildings from five on-campus outlets.[95][96] Similar operations at institutions like Tarleton State University and the University of Maine demonstrate KiwiBot's focus on educational settings, with human oversight for complex scenarios.[97][98] Nuro operates ground-based autonomous delivery vehicles resembling compact pods, designed for road travel rather than sidewalks, in partnerships for grocery and meal services. The company achieved the first fully driverless operations across Arizona, California, and Texas by 2024, with vehicles like the R3 model tested for pizza and package delivery using advanced AI driving systems.[99][100] In 2025, Nuro pivoted toward licensing its autonomy software to automakers and fleets, while maintaining delivery pilots that prioritize safety through redundant sensors and remote monitoring.[101][102]Aerial Drone Providers
Wing, an Alphabet Inc. subsidiary, pioneered commercial drone delivery in urban areas, initiating operations in the U.S. in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2022 as the first major metro deployment.[103] By June 2025, Wing expanded with Walmart to 100 stores across five additional U.S. citiesāAtlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampaābuilding on prior Northwest Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth services, enabling deliveries from retailers, restaurants, and distribution centers within minutes.[104] Wing's system uses fixed-wing drones flying at altitudes above traffic, with automated loading for high-volume scalability, averaging up to 1,000 daily packages per region as of 2023 implementations.[105] Partnerships, such as with DoorDash for mall-integrated deliveries starting December 2024, integrate drones with ground robots like Serve Robotics to bypass street congestion.[106][107] Amazon Prime Air, launched in 2013, achieved FAA certification for beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations in 2020 and resumed deliveries in select U.S. areas after pauses, including a two-month halt ending March 2025.[108] As of September 2025, the program shifted focus by ending College Station, Texas, operations to integrate into fulfillment centers while expanding to new cities, using MK30 drones for packages under 5 pounds delivered to customer backyards during daylight and favorable weather.[109][110] Safety challenges persisted, with two drone crashes into a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, on October 1, 2025, prompting a one-day pause before resumption, under NTSB and FAA investigation.[111] Costs remain high at approximately $63 per package in 2025 projections, reflecting ongoing last-mile economics.[112] Zipline specializes in autonomous drone systems for medical logistics, deploying since 2016 in Rwanda for blood and vaccine deliveries from distribution centers to remote facilities, achieving over 1 million commercial flights by April 2024, including IV fluids in Ghana.[113][114] Drones like the P2 model fly at speeds up to 110 km/h, parachuting payloads precisely to hospitals or homes, with U.S. expansions via Mayo Clinic partnership in May 2024 for medications and supplies to patients.[115] Zipline's platform emphasizes rapid response for emergencies, reducing delivery times from hours to minutes in underserved areas.[116] Matternet develops urban drone networks for zero-emission deliveries, launching pilots in Silicon Valley by November 2024 with tether-drop systems for doorstep handoffs.[117] In October 2025, Matternet partnered with Dave's Hot Chicken for food delivery trials in Los Angeles, targeting ultra-fast urban logistics integrated with e-commerce and healthcare.[118] The company's M2 aircraft support suburban and city environments, prioritizing safety through automated operations.[119] Other providers include Flytrex, active in suburban U.S. deliveries, and Drone Delivery Canada, focusing on remote logistics, though scaled deployments lag behind leaders in volume and regulatory approvals as of 2025.[120]Human Interaction and Safety
Interfaces and User Protocols
Delivery robots interface with users predominantly through integrated mobile applications provided by delivery partners or the robot operators themselves, facilitating order placement, real-time tracking, and secure payload retrieval. For instance, in systems like Starship Technologies' robots, users track the robot's progress via an interactive map in the app and receive a notification upon arrival at the designated location.[59][121] The unlocking process requires user authentication, typically via a dedicated button in the operator's app, such as Starship's mobile app, which opens the robot's compartment lid exclusively for the verified recipient. This app-based protocol ensures only authorized individuals access the contents, minimizing theft risks; users then retrieve items, close the lid, and confirm completion through the app.[59][122] On-robot interfaces are minimal, relying on visual indicators like LED status lights and occasional audio cues for arrival announcements, rather than interactive screens, to maintain simplicity and cost-efficiency in autonomous operations. User protocols emphasize prompt retrieval to avoid blocking pathways, with instructions to avoid tampering or obstructing the robot, as unauthorized interference can trigger safety halts or remote monitoring alerts.[62][123] For larger road-based systems like Nuro's vehicles, interactions similarly leverage mobile apps for access, with options for curbside or locker-based retrieval, though specifics prioritize remote verification over direct physical interfaces to align with higher-speed operations. These protocols, informed by operational patents, include user authentication steps before transaction initiation, ensuring secure handoff without human drivers.[124][125]Safety Records and Incident Analysis
Autonomous delivery robots have demonstrated a generally low incidence of safety events relative to operational volume, with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) documenting 47 incidents involving such robots since 2020, primarily minor collisions without fatalities.[126] These figures encompass both sidewalk-navigating ground robots and road-based autonomous vehicles, reflecting deployments in urban and campus environments where robots travel at pedestrian speeds of approximately 4-6 mph to minimize injury risk. Companies like Starship Technologies report executing millions of deliveries with incident rates below 0.001% per trip, attributing this to redundant sensors, AI-driven obstacle avoidance, and human teleoperation overrides, though independent verification of proprietary data remains limited.[127] Notable incidents highlight navigation challenges in dynamic pedestrian settings. In September 2023, a Starship Technologies robot collided with a pedestrian at Arizona State University, resulting in minor injuries treated on-site.[128] Similarly, on September 21, 2024, another Starship unit abruptly changed direction on a U.S. college campus sidewalk, striking a woman and causing her to fall, though injuries were not severe.[129] Serve Robotics faced scrutiny in September 2025 when one of its units exhibited erratic movement in Los Angeles, nearly colliding with a man using a mobility scooter due to cerebral palsy; the robot veered unexpectedly but contact was avoided.[130] Earlier, in February 2024, a Starship robot in Helsinki lost control on a snowy sidewalk and damaged a parked car, underscoring vulnerabilities to adverse weather impairing sensor efficacy.[131]| Date | Company | Location | Description | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | Starship Technologies | Arizona State University, USA | Collision with pedestrian during campus navigation | Minor injuries; no hospitalization[128] |
| Sep 2024 | Starship Technologies | U.S. college campus | Sudden direction change striking woman on sidewalk | Fall with non-severe injuries[129] |
| Feb 2024 | Starship Technologies | Helsinki, Finland | Loss of control on snowy path hitting parked vehicle | Property damage; no human injuries[131] |
| Sep 2025 | Serve Robotics | Los Angeles, USA | Erratic maneuvering nearly hitting mobility scooter user | No contact or injuries; public concern raised[130] |