These cute robots are now delivering pizza across Austin, Texas
They will operate in bike lanes with up to 15mph speed
Safety
The operation of the vehicles in Austin is guided bystate legislation, as well asresolutionspassed by the City Council.
Jacob Culberson, Division Manager, Mobility Services, City of Austin, toldCities Today: “The city’s responsibility always is safety.”
The city worked with Refraction AI ahead of the launch, including ensuring the robots adhere to rules around lights, braking, etc. and demonstrating them for the fire and police departments.
Austin also sought feedback from the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Refraction AI’s robots have been operatingsince December 2019.
“Refraction AI was great in working with us to bring that together…and we feel confident that [the devices] are safe,” Culberson said.
One day at a time
Austin Transportation Department’sannouncement of the robots on social mediaprompted a flurry of queries from local residents, including some concerns about the use of bike lanes.
“If we can reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles by supplanting them with small electric carriers that pose much less risk to people around them than traditional motor vehicles, then I think that’s a win,” Culberson said, adding that due to their size and speed: “I feel there’ll be little interference with our bicycle folks.”
The devices are required by state law to stop and yield the right of way to all other traffic, including bikes and pedestrians. According to Refraction AI, the REV-1 has “the shortest stopping distance of any device on the road”.
Culberson says the city will take things “one day at a time” and could develop local regulations if necessary, as it did with e-scooters.
There is no formal data-sharing requirement for the pilot but Refraction AI has agreed to share some data points with the city. Residents are also encouraged to report any issues to the 311 service.
“Over the past year, it has become more apparent that our current solutions for on-demand delivery are broken; local businesses and households are having a hard time keeping up with rising fees while profitability remains elusive for even the biggest players,” said Luke Schneider, CEO of Refraction AI, which launched in 2019. “Our expansion into Austin marks another step in our vision to transform last-mile delivery into a ubiquitous, accessible, sustainable service that anyone can take part in.”
Starship Technologies also ran a short pilot with sidewalk delivery robots in Austin in 2017.
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Story byCities Today
Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.
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