It doesn’t have the personality of WALL-E.
Or even the communication skills of the small waste-collecting robot of Pixar film fame.
But Ahwatukee and East Valley residents could soon find themselves sharing the sidewalks with armies of small six-wheeled automated robots delivering everything from lunch and groceries to the mail.
State lawmakers took the first steps Wednesday to legalize the use of what are formally called “personal delivery devices.’’ HB 2422, given unanimous approval by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, would specifically grant them the right to operate on sidewalks and in crosswalks.
It also would give them the same rights and duties as pedestrians with whom they will share that right of way. That includes a mandate to follow all traffic and pedestrian control signals and devices.
David Catania, spokesman for Estonia-based Starship Technologies, says that’s already happening in the San Francisco and Washington, D.C. areas as well as in several countries in Europe.
In some cases, he said, customers lease the robots outright, keeping them around for errands as necessary. Catania said other customers call on them as necessary, much in the same way someone might call for an Uber.
He told lawmakers that the devices won’t be a danger to pedestrians or impair movement on the sidewalk, even if there are several of them running around.
First, he said, they’re no wider than a typical pedestrian. And he said they are programmed to avoid confrontations.
“They have a bubble of awareness of about 15 meters using sonic sensors and cameras,’’ Catania explained while demonstrating the robot outside the Capitol recently. “So, they’ll actually see the person before, in many cases, the person will see it, especially as many people are constantly on their cell phones.’’
And he said the shins of pedestrians are in no danger.
“It will get within 18 inches and then it will stop,’’ Catania said.
On the latter, he said the system is set up so that the person expecting a delivery is texted when the robot arrives. Only then will the storage compartment unlock.
As to stealing the device, Catania said that would not be easy. Aside from it weighing 80 pounds, he said there are “redundant GPS systems’’ to report its location.
“So we’ll be able to find it,’’ he said.
The legislation requires those who operate the devices to have at least $100,000 of liability insurance to cover injuries or damages. Catania said that in the company’s history it has had only one claim.
Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, had a slightly different liability question.
“As someone who’s got a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old that drive, and they run over this thing ... I want to know what it’s going to cost to replace it,’’ he said.
Catania said the first models – about 150 are now deployed – cost something under $10,000 to manufacture. But he said once there is a demand for more he believes the price tag can get down to around the $1,000 range.
The measure needs full House approval before going to the Senate.
Entire story: http://www.ahwatukee.com/business/article_444450a4-11b9-11e8-850f-ffe483fd4922.html