Delivery robots are showing up on city sidewalks

A Starship Technologies commercial delivery robot crosses a street during a live demonstration in front of the headquarters of Metro AG in Duesseldorf, Germany, June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

WASHINGTON: Designers of futuristic cityscapes envision delivery drones dropping off your packages from the sky and driverless cars taking you to work. But the robotic delivery invasion already has arrived in the form of machines that look like beer coolers on wheels scooting along the sidewalks. 

The ground-bound robots, developed by the science fiction-sounding company Starship Technologies, will be showing up any day in the nation's capital and in Redwood City, California. They could soon be in up to 10 cities, ferrying groceries and other packages over what the company calls the "last mile," from a neighbourhood delivery "hub" to your front door, all for as little as US$1 (RM4.44) a trip.