Starship

A white boxy mobile robot on six wheels with a narrow antenna with an orange flag on top speeds down a street.
Speedy delivery. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Starship is a six-wheeled ground robot that can navigate streets and sidewalks autonomously. It's designed to be safe and robust, offering on-demand package delivery for consumers and businesses.

Creator

Starship Technologies

Year
2015
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
Starship robots deliver food, drinks, and parcels. Video: Starship Technologies

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Appearance

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Did you know?

Children leave thank-you notes for the robot inside of the delivery compartment.

A white boxy mobile robot on six wheels with a narrow antenna with an orange flag pauses to let a moving car pass.
This robot always looks before crossing. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images

History

Starship robots are created and operated by Starship Technologies, headquartered in San Francisco and with R&D facilities in Estonia and Finland. The company was founded in 2014 by two Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis. To date, the company's robots have operated in 20 countries and over 100 cities around the world. The robots are designed to deliver goods locally in minutes. They drive autonomously but are monitored by humans who can take over control at any time. In late 2018, Starship announced the world's first commercial rollout of autonomous package delivery on the ground, with hundreds of robots set to start delivering packages straight to consumers' front doors in the Bay Area, in California. In 2021, Starship announced that its robots had completed 1 million autonomous deliveries around the world.

A woman opens Starships top and removes a bag of food.
Robots deliver the best food. Photo: Raigo Pajula/AFP/Getty Images
A wall of art from children dedicated to the robot.
Kids show Starship their love. Photo: Starship Technologies

Specs

Overview

Equipped with sensors and AI to map and understand the world around the robot. Advanced object-detection system running at over 2,000 frames per second. Mapping system allows the robot to understand its location to the nearest inch.

Status

Ongoing

Year

2015

Website
Width
55.9 cm
Height
55.9 cm
Length
68.6 cm
Weight
20 kg
Speed
6 km/h
Sensors

Ultrasonic sensors, radar, time-of-flight cameras, stereo cameras

Cost
For local deliveries: prices vary depending on location. £1 for delivery in U.K., $2 for delivery in the U.S. for local goods