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I would be very excited to receive items from one of these robots. However, I don't know if I could bring myself to send anything of import. The risk of en ro

by dfinlay 11y ago

I would be very excited to receive items from one of these robots. However, I don't know if I could bring myself to send anything of import. The risk of en route damage/theft seems really high. The trapping or taunting of them seems like a surefire activity for children. Their contribution to already congested pedestrian routes in urban areas seems like a perfect catalyst for sidewalk rage induced kicks. If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. A few hours to build a serviceable faraday cage and you have a drop and lift job that nets significant gains. Not advocated theft, but it seems a rather obvious risk. Also, dogs rejoice! You finally have a catchable, chewable mail courier. Edit: There also seems to be some potential security risks here. Some cities may not be keen on unmanned, arbitrary payload carrying robots driving through throngs of pedestrians. They are going to have vet the store operators and detect if a recipient fills a unit with unexpected items. Maybe that is just paranoia.

bigethan 11y ago
> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. That was my first thought as well. Get a van and a sledgehammer and wait a few blocks away from their depot in the morning. Sure they could phone home, but what is the cost of maintaining a staff to protect the robots vs. just having the staff deliver things. Reminds me of a friend who was a Marine Biologist. Their lab spent a lot of money to get an underwater probe that could go around and take automated readings based on a map. But the probe cost so much money that they had to follow it the whole time in a boat to make sure it didn't get lost.
- betimsl 11y ago
  >> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. The first thing I thought. > ...they had to follow it the whole time in a boat to make sure it didn't get lost. This should be a great input for this company making these, actually solves the issue of theft. One robot, one person to follow it from a distance and make sure it does not get lost or, ehem stolen.
  - dfinlay 11y ago
    > This should be a great input for this company making these, actually solves the issue of theft. One robot, one person to follow it from a distance and make sure it does not get lost or, ehem stolen. A one to one relationship doesn't seem like it would scale. They could make their operation centers mobile by outfitting vans or buses. That would allow for visual monitoring as needed, and quick responses to breakdowns/thefts/vandalism. As an added bonus, they could see a net savings on downtown office space as well!
    - chillingeffect 11y ago
      Maybe it's more like this: a foreperson rolls up in a truck. Then a stream of about 20 of these fulla ciggies n beer loops through to the convenience store to drop it off. No heavy hand truck.
  - Flenser 11y ago
    If they were commonplace, they could monitor each other. As soon as one is tampered with, others could be re-reouted to follow the perpitrators. It would be like having a mobile CCTV network.
zensavona 11y ago
My first thought also - I wonder what kind 'self-defense' mechanisms would be legal and/or effective. It says on the website that the robots are monitored by humans , I think a human voice beaming from the thing saying "Hey, we're recording you messing with our robot" would be enough to deter 95% of potential attackers. What about the other 5%?
- RobertoG 11y ago
  "I wonder what kind 'self-defense' mechanisms would be legal and/or effective." Maybe this thing will be followed by a weaponized drone (they tell me is legal in Pakistan).
- dfinlay 11y ago
  As long as the items are low value like groceries, the other 5% probably wouldn't bother. They might be wise to impose a value or insurable limit, at least initially.
huhtenberg 11y ago
Theft/vandalism of robots themselves would be no less of an issue as well.
chedabob 11y ago
> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. More so than normal deliveries? There's nothing stopping someone clobbering the USPS guy and emptying the van. At least with the robot it's only carrying one item and it can record the attack on its cameras.
- Filligree 11y ago
  > More so than normal deliveries? There's nothing stopping someone clobbering the USPS guy and emptying the van. At least with the robot it's only carrying one item and it can record the attack on its cameras. People are a great deal more reluctant to attack other people. Most criminals are nonviolent.
orthoganol 11y ago
I think the biggest risk at least in a city like San Francisco is people taking their anger out against "rich techies" on these robots. Look how riled San Francisco is right now, what with the perception that techies are causing all their problems. I am certain this would have to put up with an onslaught from these segments of society.
melling 11y ago
Just add video. Most people behave differently if they're being filmed. Transmit to a call center.
lifeformed 11y ago
Here's my idea: As soon as it detects that it's being tampered with or stolen, it locks down and sends out a distress signal to a recovery team. It goes into "hostage mode" and records all sights, sounds, GPS locations, back to the team. The recovery team already has legal stuff figured out with the local police force, and they work together to retrieve the bot and prosecute the offenders, which should be easy with all the data collected. That should be quite effective against most thieves, and building up a reputation for 100% recovery and prosecution would deter future thieves. A faraday cage trap might be pretty tough to deal with though. Maybe it can emit annoying sounds if it detects it's being trapped.
- zbyte64 11y ago
  Unless it is a safe, the thief could just drill into the battery.
Shivetya 11y ago
Liability issues would be my concern. They device would need to record 360 video to prove it didn't cause an accident or injury. I do see a use for delivery within an office building. Likely this might be the best way to get people accustomed to them. Simply have them operate in the office setting. Even better, connect to intelligent vending machines and they will go get you snacks, drinks, and more, all through the use of an app.
insulanian 11y ago
> Also, dogs rejoice! You finally have a catchable, chewable mail courier. You, sir, gave me a hell of a laugh today :)
bryanlarsen 11y ago
If package theft was a significant problem, Amazon would require signature on delivery for everything.

by dfinlay 11y ago

bigethan 11y ago

> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. That was my first thought as well. Get a van and a sledgehammer and wait a few blocks away from their depot in the morning. Sure they could phone home, but what is the cost of maintaining a staff to protect the robots vs. just having the staff deliver things. Reminds me of a friend who was a Marine Biologist. Their lab spent a lot of money to get an underwater probe that could go around and take automated readings based on a map. But the probe cost so much money that they had to follow it the whole time in a boat to make sure it didn't get lost.

betimsl 11y ago
>> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. The first thing I thought. > ...they had to follow it the whole time in a boat to make sure it didn't get lost. This should be a great input for this company making these, actually solves the issue of theft. One robot, one person to follow it from a distance and make sure it does not get lost or, ehem stolen.
- dfinlay 11y ago
  > This should be a great input for this company making these, actually solves the issue of theft. One robot, one person to follow it from a distance and make sure it does not get lost or, ehem stolen. A one to one relationship doesn't seem like it would scale. They could make their operation centers mobile by outfitting vans or buses. That would allow for visual monitoring as needed, and quick responses to breakdowns/thefts/vandalism. As an added bonus, they could see a net savings on downtown office space as well!
  - chillingeffect 11y ago
    Maybe it's more like this: a foreperson rolls up in a truck. Then a stream of about 20 of these fulla ciggies n beer loops through to the convenience store to drop it off. No heavy hand truck.
- Flenser 11y ago
  If they were commonplace, they could monitor each other. As soon as one is tampered with, others could be re-reouted to follow the perpitrators. It would be like having a mobile CCTV network.

zensavona 11y ago

My first thought also - I wonder what kind 'self-defense' mechanisms would be legal and/or effective. It says on the website that the robots are monitored by humans , I think a human voice beaming from the thing saying "Hey, we're recording you messing with our robot" would be enough to deter 95% of potential attackers. What about the other 5%?

RobertoG 11y ago
"I wonder what kind 'self-defense' mechanisms would be legal and/or effective." Maybe this thing will be followed by a weaponized drone (they tell me is legal in Pakistan).
dfinlay 11y ago
As long as the items are low value like groceries, the other 5% probably wouldn't bother. They might be wise to impose a value or insurable limit, at least initially.

huhtenberg 11y ago

Theft/vandalism of robots themselves would be no less of an issue as well.

chedabob 11y ago

> If they were to commonly transport high value goods, theft would be a huge issue. More so than normal deliveries? There's nothing stopping someone clobbering the USPS guy and emptying the van. At least with the robot it's only carrying one item and it can record the attack on its cameras.

Filligree 11y ago
> More so than normal deliveries? There's nothing stopping someone clobbering the USPS guy and emptying the van. At least with the robot it's only carrying one item and it can record the attack on its cameras. People are a great deal more reluctant to attack other people. Most criminals are nonviolent.

orthoganol 11y ago

I think the biggest risk at least in a city like San Francisco is people taking their anger out against "rich techies" on these robots. Look how riled San Francisco is right now, what with the perception that techies are causing all their problems. I am certain this would have to put up with an onslaught from these segments of society.

melling 11y ago

Just add video. Most people behave differently if they're being filmed. Transmit to a call center.

lifeformed 11y ago

Here's my idea: As soon as it detects that it's being tampered with or stolen, it locks down and sends out a distress signal to a recovery team. It goes into "hostage mode" and records all sights, sounds, GPS locations, back to the team. The recovery team already has legal stuff figured out with the local police force, and they work together to retrieve the bot and prosecute the offenders, which should be easy with all the data collected. That should be quite effective against most thieves, and building up a reputation for 100% recovery and prosecution would deter future thieves. A faraday cage trap might be pretty tough to deal with though. Maybe it can emit annoying sounds if it detects it's being trapped.

zbyte64 11y ago
Unless it is a safe, the thief could just drill into the battery.

Shivetya 11y ago

Liability issues would be my concern. They device would need to record 360 video to prove it didn't cause an accident or injury. I do see a use for delivery within an office building. Likely this might be the best way to get people accustomed to them. Simply have them operate in the office setting. Even better, connect to intelligent vending machines and they will go get you snacks, drinks, and more, all through the use of an app.

insulanian 11y ago

> Also, dogs rejoice! You finally have a catchable, chewable mail courier. You, sir, gave me a hell of a laugh today :)

bryanlarsen 11y ago

If package theft was a significant problem, Amazon would require signature on delivery for everything.