A delivery robot that got stuck in the snow has thanked the man who put it back on the right track.
Graham Smith came across the robot struggling to mount an icy kerb in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, on Monday. Posting a photo on Facebook, he said he was concerned about the plight of the “poor little mite”, which said “thank you” after he helped it up the kerb.
Heavy snow fell across the city on Sunday night and by Monday it was blanketed in white. A photo taken late on Sunday shows several of them happily trundling along a snowy pavement in Cambridge.
However, the Cherry Hinton bot hit a bit of bother on its journey the following day. Mr Smith, who was out walking in Chequers Close, spotted it having trouble and took a photograph.
On his Facebook post he wrote: “Saw this poor little mite trying to negotiate a high, slippery kerb in Chequers Close earlier today, wheels spinning like crazy, we gave it a push onto the path, it very politely thanked us and carried on its way. Should it have been let out on its own in these weather conditions? It didn’t even have a scarf.”
He said the robot “looked a little lost” as it came across the road and then became stuck on the snow and ice trying to mount the kerb. “I lifted its back end up to help it on, and it shunted backwards and forwards a bit, and then said ‘thank you very much’ before heading away.”
A Starship Technologies spokesman said: "Our little helpers are busy delivering in the run up to Christmas, and a light dusting of snow won’t stop them. “They’re designed to deliver in a range of different weather conditions, and although temperatures in the UK have fallen these past few days, the robot’s batteries are designed to operate at -20C.”
This is the first time that I’ve heard about these bots. Previously:
Apparently, they wait for a human to appear and then ask for the crossing’s Big Button to be pressed …
When I first saw news about the Cooperative shops trialling a delivery service via these cute little robotsI wondered about what protection they had against theft or vandalism too.
I found various bits of info about them online - in the video in this link, it explains how much security is built in - cameras, trackers and they probably have alarms now which could be triggered if they are taken off their programmed route.
The video shows a man trying to get into a locked bot and he couldn’t (he managed to steal something from the 2nd bot he tried but I think that one was unlocked)
I think it’s lovely that the bots have been programmed to say Thank You when folk assist them!
Personally, I think they can be dangerous, I mean, look at that one waiting at the zebra crossing, plus they are very low to the ground, would a lorry see it,hmmmmm.
Fleets of bots, the risk of being mown down by an escooter, going out could get to be very interesting.
Think I’ll treat myself self to a set of body armour for Christmas
