Food delivery robots return to Pitt campus
Food delivery robots pulled from the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland this week will return Friday afternoon, according to a statement released by Pitt spokesman Joe Miksch.
The robots — white, cooler-sized boxes on wheels that can carry up to 100 pounds of cargo — travel on sidewalks to deliver food throughout the Pitt campus. They were reported this week to have blocked access to sidewalks by idling in curb cuts, creating a potential safety hazard and complicating sidewalk travel for people who use wheelchairs.
The robots are made by the robotics company Starship Technologies.
“The testing will be conducted under human supervision and remotely through cameras and other sensors,” the Pitt statement said. “Starship has reviewed and amended mapping of the robots’ routes where necessary to ensure additional space is provided at crossings. We encourage feedback during this additional testing as we move toward the launch of the delivery service.”
Representatives from Starship Technologies did not respond to a request for additional details Friday.
Starship started testing the fleet of about 25 robots in Oakland in October.
The company is scheduled to meet with officials from the City of Pittsburgh, Pitt and other Oakland stakeholders to review feedback from the October testing period.
Miksch said that feedback should be sent directly to Starship at Hello@starship.co.
Jamie Martines is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jamie by email at jmartines@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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