Humans and robots coping with crisis – Starship, Covid-19 and urban robotics in an unpredictable world

Abstract

In 2018 "Starship" grocery delivery robots were first introduced in Milton Keynes (MK), a new town in England, to automate a task that is difficult to perform in a cost-effective manner by humansthat of on-demand grocery delivery. Two years later the Covid-19 pandemic rendered routine activities such as delivering groceries or visiting the supermarket unexpectedly unsafe. The ability of robots to operate in environments that are dangerous for humans was brought into sharp relief by the Covid-19 pandemic but it may also be relevant in other crisis situations such as those that may be caused by heat waves, blizzards and other extreme events associated with climate change. Drawing on a case study of Starship robots in MK, this contribution investigates the potential of robotic and autonomous systems to provide cities with tools for coping with such unexpected situations. I. INTRODUCTIONThe introduction of robots in urban spaces has considerable transformative potential and delivers technological capabilities and capacities beyond human abilities and existing infrastructural possibilities [1], automating and augmenting complex urban tasks that are unattractive, repetitive or labour intensive as well as those that are highly complex or dangerous [2]. In 2018 "Starship" grocery delivery robots were first introduced in Milton Keynes (MK), a new town in England, to automate a task that is difficult to perform in a cost-effective manner by humansthat of on-demand grocery delivery. Two years later the Covid-19 pandemic rendered routine activities such as delivering groceries or visiting the supermarket unexpectedly unsafe. The service performed by grocery delivery robots, which was merely intended to be convenient and costeffective, unexpectedly became the safe alternative to a task that was potentially too dangerous for humans to perform. The ability of robots to operate in environments that are dangerous for humans was indeed brought into sharp relief by the Covid-19 pandemic but it is also likely to be relevant in other crisis situations [3] such as those that may be caused by heat waves, blizzards and other extreme events associated with climate change. Drawing on a case study of Starship robots in MK, this contribution investigates the potential of robotic and autonomous systems to provide cities with tools for coping with such unexpected situations. Urban robots are the physical agents of AI-driven autonomous systems designed to make decisions in real time and negotiate complicated tasks in dynamic contexts. Urban AIs are designed for learning, dealing with complex M.Valdez -corresponding author.

Humans, robots and artificial intelligences reconfiguring urban life in a crisis

“…Initial data collection focused on six expert interviews of volunteers and representatives of community organizations supporting vulnerable populations during the crisis, as well as representatives from vulnerable and at-risk groups. This selection of interviewees responded to the original scope of the research, which sought to investigate the role of robots in supporting vulnerable populations (Valdez et al, 2021). As the scope expanded to include broader tensions and potentials of urban AI, data collection and analysis moved predominantly toward non-intrusive observational and documentary approaches.…”

“…The content of this manuscript has been presented in part at the IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC) (Valdez et al, 2021).…”

Post‐pandemic cities: An urban lexicon of accelerations/decelerations

“…While the use of delivery robots in urban China was rapidly accelerated, these were restricted to relatively simple and safe linear routes (Chen et al, 2020). In contrast, an already working robotic delivery system in Milton Keynes was rapidly scaled up to increase capacity by 300% (Valdez Juarez et al, 2021). This complimented the existing human delivery network which was then able to focus on vulnerable populations that could not use robots.…”

Designing Multispecies Worlds for Robots, Cats, and Humans

“…From cleaning our homes [48], to mowing our lawns [55], to delivering shopping [54] and couriering items around hospitals, [53], robots are finding their place in daily life. As they do so, they will inevitably interact with and be encountered by animals.…”