Delivery robot stuck on icy pavement politely thanks helpful passer-by

Food delivery robot stuck on an icy pavement stuns passer-by by politely thanking him for his help

• Starship food delivery robot politely thanked man for helping on icy pavement
• Local Graham Smith, from Cambridge, said the ‘mite’ was stuck on a kerb
• He pushed the robot up and it told him ‘thank you have a nice day’ to his shock

A tiny delivery robot took a passerby by surprise by ‘politely thanking’ him for his help after it got stuck on an icy pavement.

This week a passerby spotted a Starship food-delivery robot struggling to find a way up the large and icy curb in Cambridge.

Graham Smith from Cherry Hinton in Cambridge, immediately came to the bot’s aid in Chequers Close on Tuesday.

He said: ‘I saw this poor little mite trying to negotiate a high, slippery kerb in Chequers Close earlier today, wheels spinning like crazy.’

A Starship food delivery robot (pictured) got stuck on an icy kerb in Cambridge on Tuesday but was freed by local Graham Smith. The robot thanked him and wished him a good day

The Starship delivery bots affectionately known as ‘grocery badgers’ have taken over the city of Cambridge to deliver groceries to residents

Mr Smith and his partner Sybil Crisford then gave it an encouraging push up the curb.

It then took them both aback by saying ‘thank you, have a good day’ before rolling away.

Mr Smith added: ‘Should it have been let out on its own in these weather conditions? It didn’t even have a scarf!’

His post about the bot on a local Facebook group attracted hundreds of likes and dozens of people sharing their concern for the bot’s wellbeing.

The Starship bots have charmed residents of Cambridge, with their polite manners, singing and adorable light-up flags over the autumn after they were rolled out in droves across the city.

The bots affectionately known as ‘grocery badgers’ have taken over the city of Cambridge to deliver groceries to residents and can be seen lining up outside supermarkets to take orders as and when needed.

The bots (file photo) use sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning to navigate

The bots use sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning to navigate but the icy conditions of the last week seem to have made it hard for the wheels to overcome slippery kerbs.

One commenter wrote ‘I think the extreme weather test is looking like a fail’ for the bot, but Mr Smith said he would give him an ‘A’ for effort.

He also joked that the group should start a ‘stop cruelty to automatons’ party.

Alan Trim wrote: ‘Even though they’re here to replace us, they are adorable..’

A spokesperson from Starship said: ‘The robots make more than 140,000 road crossings every day around the world, nearly one every three seconds.

‘Most of these crossings are done autonomously, but on the rare occasion assistance is required, the robots can be monitored remotely.

‘It’s also true that every now and then the robots are not shy in asking a friendly resident for help, particularly in a new area they’ve recently started mapping.’

WHAT ARE STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES’ DELIVERY ROBOTS?

The London-based company was created by Skype’s Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis in 2014.

The slow-moving delivery bots have already been trialled across the world, including in Hamburg, Washington and here in the UK delivering everything from groceries to takeout pizza.

They have travelled more than 100,000 miles in testing mode in more than 100 cities in 20 different countries.

Unlike robots designed to resemble humans, Starship’s bot is purely functional with a large compartment to hold deliveries, the equivalent size of two grocery bags.

Each six-wheeled ‘ground drone’ is completely self-driving.

Workers can drop a pin on a map (like Uber) to show their location and then select what food they want to order. 

Each vehicle is 55cm (22 inches) high by 70cm (28 inches) long.

It has a secured compartment where parcels with a maximum weight of 10kg (22 pounds) can be transported, accessible to consumers via a link generated by a smartphone app.

They have six wheels and can travel at speeds up to 4mph (6.4kmh) per hour.

They travel mainly on pavements, can go up curbs and operate in the rain and snow.  

The company has already carried out trials in a number of towns across England, including Cambourne, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Bedford.

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