Monday, August 31, 2020

Oh, patents! Starship robots (5) Industrial design

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The distinctive-looking features of the Starship Technologies delivery robots are filed in a series of Canadian Industrial Design Registrations at the Canadian Industrial Property Office (CIPO), per the provisions of the Canadian Industrial Design Act

Industrial Design Registration in Canada, protects the way an object looks, in contrast to the way the object works, what it is made of, or how it is made. Protection may be obtained for the whole finished product, or parts of it, for a period of up to 15 years.

For example, the following Canadian Industrial Design Registration CA167756  protects the ornamental features of the Starship Technologies delivery robots. The Figure 5 photo, on file as part of this Canadian Industrial Design Registration CA167756, is included below.

References

Canadian Industrial Design Act: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-9/index.html

Starship Technologies: https://www.starship.xyz/

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Oh, patents ! Starship robots (4) Insulation

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In response to the surge of online commerce, especially during the cautious re-opening of the economy, following the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Starship robots are delivering contactless parcels, medicines, groceries, and take-out food. Deliveries that include temperature-sensitive items, both piping hot and freezing cold. The Starship Technologies utility patent US10005609B1, titled Device and system for insulating items during delivery by a mobile robotaddresses the problems of spillage, stain and/or persistent odor of the prior art of food delivery insulation and storage. Prior art that consisted in insulated compartment walls with various layers of insulation materials, alternatively the insertion of gel packs into indentations of the storage compartment walls.

The inventive solution disclosed in the Starship Technologies patent consists in a removable insulated bag, designed to reduce heat exchange inside the robot’s payload compartment. The removable bag has a 50 to 80-liter capacity. The bag “fits snuggly”, vs. sealed, into the robot’s payload compartment. It is secured to the compartment, and the robot lid, with Velcro (preferably), alternatively with tape, snaps, button fasteners or suction cups, so that when the robot lid is unlocked and opened, the insulated bag is also opened. 

The insulated bag has several advantages. It protects the robot’s electronics from spills. It is also removable for washing and sanitation, thereby preventing odors, stains and potential microbiological hazards. The insulated bag may optionally be designed with several horizontal or vertical, separating walls to compartmentalize the contents transported. For example, the bag compartments might be used to separate drinks from food, in view of preventing exchanges between liquids and solids, in addition to promoting thermal insulation between items.

The insulated bag is made of an inner layer, and a preferably detachable/removable outer layer. The bag inner layer, measuring preferably between 4 to 6 mm, may comprise foam-insulating material, aerogel, air or vacuum-based insulation, providing a thermal conductivity k-value, ranging between 0.03 to 0.05 W/mK.  The bag outer layer, made of polymer material, such as polyamide or polyester, is hydrophobic, in case of spills The outer layer of the insulated bag, preferably secured via a zipper, is also removable to facilitate regular cleaning. 

Additionally, the bags may comprise an intermediate layer, comprising material with a high reflectance coefficient (e.g., a foil or aluminum laminate) designed to reduce radiative heat transfer between the bag cavity and ambient surroundings. In some embodiments the Starship insulation bags also comprise insulated flaps that fold to open and close, adding an extra layer of insulation where the lid meets with the bag cavity, at a juncture that is particularly vulnerable to heat exchange with ambient surroundings.

In general, temperature exchange will vary according to such factors as the thickness and type of bag insulating materials, ambient temperature, and the mass of the temperature-sensitive items transported. Roughly, the thicker the insulating material, the lower the temperature exchange, ideally between 1 and 5­ C, over a period of 30 minutes. Thus, the Starship robot insulated bags come in two thicknesses, which are each used, depending on the delivery turnaround, and the temperature sensitivity of the items transported.

The payload compartment might also comprise heating or cooling elements, secured to the bags. Likewise, the payload compartment might also be equipped with one or several sensors. Preferably two sensors are included, one to detect the compartment temperature, the other to detect the compartment humidity. The sensors are thus designed to enable the monitoring of temperature-sensitive items, in view of guaranteeing that the items retain their temperatures during the last-mile delivery process.

The abstract of the invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 3. The patent Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the insulated bag for transportation of items within its cavity 26, fitted inside a rigid compartment, or bin 100, within the mobile Starship robot 1000.  The rigid compartment 100 is recited as an additional barrier between the robot’s electronics and the payload, serving as extra protection against spillage, while also preventing customers from accessing the robot's electronics. The bin 100, with insulated bag attached 1, might also be used to store the payload in a Starship Robovan (mothership), before loading into the mobile Starship robot 1000 for delivery. The patent Figure 3 further depicts the mobile Starship robot body or frame 1010, with 6 wheels 1020, adapted for land use, especially pedestrian walkways. The patent figure 3 also depicts the insulated bag lid 4, secured to the mobile robot lid 1040 with a securing element 40, leaving some space between the inner surface 1042 of the robot lid, and the outer surface of the insulated bag 44. The insulated bag 1 is also depicted with flaps 6, providing extra insulation from ambient conditions at the juncture between the lid 1040, and the mobile robot body 1010.


A corresponding image of the marketed mobile Starship robot, with its lid open, showing the insulated bag, is also included below. 


An insulated bag reduces heat exchange between temperature-sensitive items and ambient surroundings. The insulated bag has a bag body, which can be covered by a bag lid. The bag lid is provided with a first portion of a securing element. The insulated bag is suitable for insertion into an item space of a mobile delivery robot. The mobile robot has a robot lid provided with a complementary second portion of the securing element. After the insulated bag is inserted into the item space, the two portions of the securing element are connected. Thereafter, when the robot lid is opened, the bag lid is also opened, permitting access to its contents. [Abstract US10005609B1]

Reference

Starship Technologies Inc. 

https://www.starship.xyz/

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Oh, patents! Starship robots (3) Low-light navigation

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

One of the main advantages of using delivery robots, to solve the last mile logistics of transporting goods, is that robots can operate 24/7 without mandatory resting periods, or extra pay. Last mile robotic deliveries thus already appeared as quite an atractive solution, considering the surge of ecommerce and online deliveries, even before the pandemic,  a forciori during the pandemic, and the gradual re-opening of economies.

However, for robots to moonlight (pun intended) at no extra costs, they also have to be able to navigate in low-light conditions. Easier said, than done.  How does a camera sensor capture the image of an objet that is no longer visible? How can terrain be mapped accurately and efficiently at night? The StarshipTechnologies patent WO2019086465A1, titled Visual localization and mapping in low light conditions, precisely adresses this issue.

 The patent discloses a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) method where the robot can estimate its own position on a map, while simultaneously creating the map, enabling it to continue its route autonomously. The method relies on data collected by a wide variety of sensors, such as GPS, Lidar, gyroscope,  cameras,  odometer, accelerometer and magnetometer. At sundown, when the sun is astronomically positioned between 0 and 6 degrees below the horizon, a twilight map is created. The twighlight map has the advantage of having both daytime features (e.g. ; straight lines) and night time features (e.g.,urban lights) features.  Thus, the twilight map, in fact, bridges the visibility gap by mapping the position of nighttime features onto a daytime model. In turn, position relative to visibility is triangulated with data incoming from other sensors, and mapping is adjusted accordingly. Otherwise captured images might also be downsized to bring blurry or jagged lines into sharper focus, during mapping.  Likewise roads and buildings might be tagged relative to daytime and night time features to facilitate localization.

The abstract of the invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 4 showing a twighlight map with night time visual features (e.g., urban lights) 2T, and day time visual features (e.g., lines) T1,  extracted during twighlight time, when the sun was positionned astronomically  between 3 and 8 degrees below the horizon.

The present invention relates to a method comprising generating a map comprising day-time features and night-time features, wherein the position of night-time features relative to the day-time features is determined by at least one image captured during twilight. The present invention also relates to a corresponding processing unit configured to execute such a method. [Abstract WO2019086465A1]

Most of the time, all goes well. The 99% autonomous Starship robots fullfill their missions, delivering goods at extended hours, seven days a week, to happy customers. For example, according to the Youtube video incuded below, Starship Robots fulfilled 2500 deliveries during their first week of operation at the Univesrity of Houston, TX, in 2019. However, on occasion the robots get stuck. The following Youtube video shows how a Starship robot was rescued by a University of Houston student, in the middle of the night. Equipped with voiced interaction routines, the Starship robot even gratefully thanked the student, after being rescued.  


Reference
Starship Technologies

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Oh, patents! Starship robots (2) The mothership

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

 The Mercedez-Benz robovan has been called the Starship robot mothership (Vincent, 2016). An adapted Mercedez-Benz Sprinter van, the Mercedez-Benz robovan ferries eight Starship robots for 99% autonomous parcel delivery, directly to clients, on an algorithm-optimized route. Eight Starship robots enter the van from the rear, using a ramp, and exit the van from the side, also using a ramp. The Starship robots deliver goods within a 2-mile radius. The goods, stored in robovan bins above the robots, are manually loaded into the robot’s payload compartment. After delivery of the goods, directly to customers, the Starship robots return back autonomously to the mothership, where they can dock to recharge, and be refilled with a new payload. The robovan mothership, together with its fleet of eight Starship robots, makes an estimated 400 deliveries per 9-hour day, which solves the last-mile logistics of delivering goods, efficiently and cost-effectively (Burgess, 2017). Especially in response to the surge in demand for online and contactless deliveries, during and post, pandemic.

 The YouTube video below shows the Mercedez-Benz robovan, together with the Starship delivery robots.


 The robovan mothership invention is recited in a family of three patents.  

The patents reciting the Starship mothership vehicle invention are surprisingly wider in scope than the Mercedez-Benz robovan embodiment. Looking at the British patent, for example, the definition of the term “vehicle” is extended to:

 “a passenger car, rail vehicle, watercraft (e.g. ship), underwater vehicle or aircraft.” [0006]

 Likewise, the definition of the term “delivery robot” has a much wider definition, understood in particular to mean: 

a self-driving delivery robot, a self-flying delivery robot (drone), a self-controlling floating vehicle, etc..” [0007]

Otherwise, the delivery robots are described as autonomous vehicles, able to charge or refuel autonomously inside the mothership hold. The robots are also described as preferably fully autonomous. Thus, the robots are equipped with navigation and positioning means, as well as a robot-guidance system, a 2D/3D guidance route, and sensors to collect recordings of the environment, for evaluation in regards to existing obstacles. Equipment ultimately designed to enable the delivery robots to locate a customer’s address and to return to the mothership, without the assistance of a human operator.   

The mothership vehicle is equipped with automated mechanical clamping means to secure the robots in place within the vehicle’s hold. Such automated mechanical clamping means are also described as partially inflatable, in order to accommodate different design contours or angles of the individual delivery robots, loaded into the vehicle hold. 

Communication between the vehicle and the robots is Bluetooth® enabled. For example, communication to monitor loading and unloading of the robots, to transmit the recipients’ delivery addresses to the robots and instructions for remitting the payloads to the recipients, to launch automated routines, as well to transmit information to a communication center and/or to the vehicle driver, for monitoring and oversing the condition and activity of both the mothership and the robots.


The mothership vehicle is also equipped with accumulators, able to interface with each individual delivery robot, for the purposes of charging or refueling, particularly during vehicle travel. Advantageously, charging might be designed contactless via induction. In any event, charging occurs without human intervention. 

To optimize the vehicle’s automated handling of the delivery robots, the cargo hold is also equipped with sensors, able to communicate information in regards to the number of robots in the hold and their position. Likewise, the vehicle is also equipped with means to record and perform the loading and unloading of the robots into the vehicle hold, whether loading and unloading invoke ramps, platforms, and/or a docking interface. 

The British patent abstract of the Starship vehicle invention is included below, together with the patent Figure drawings 1a & 1b of the mothership vehicle, loaded with delivery robots. In Figure 1a, the vehicle (1) is further depicted with a non-inflated fixing device (12) for securing the robots (50) in the hold (10). In Figure 1b the fixing device (12) is shown inflated, and actively securing the delivery robots in place, in the cargo hold (10). 


The invention relates to a vehicle (1) for accommodating a number n ≤ N of delivery robots (50) in a cargo compartment (10) of the vehicle (1), where N is the maximum number of delivery robots (50) which can be accommodated in the cargo compartment (10) and n is the number of delivery robots (50) currently in the cargo compartment (10). The vehicle (1) has the following: - a fixing device (12) for the automatic individual fixing of N delivery robots (50) in the cargo compartment (10), - a communication interface (14) for communication between the vehicle (1) and the n delivery robots (50), and - a number N of charging interfaces (16) for the individual automatic charging of energy stores of the n delivery robots (50) in the cargo compartment (10[Abstract GB2573382A].

____________________

Notes 

(1) A Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT], United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO] patent, filed in German, by StarshipTechnologies.
(2) A British patent, filed in English, by Starship Technologies
(3) A German patent, filed in German, by Daimler AG

References 

Burgess, M. (Sept. 7, 2016) Mercedes vans filled with swarming delivery bots could be heading to your hometown – Wired Mag.  https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mercedes-starship-drones-delivery-van

Daimler.com (Jan. 13, 2017)  Mercedes-Benz invests in Starship Technologies, the world's leading manufacturer of delivery robots.  https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Mercedes-Benz-Vans-invests-in-Starship-Technologies-the-worlds-leading-manufacturer-of-delivery-robots.xhtml?oid=15274799

Starship Technologies - https://www.starship.xyz/

Vincent, J. (Sept. 6, 2016) Mercedes Benz has made a ‘mothership’ van for six-wheeled delivery robots. The Vergehttps://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12830298/delivery-bot-van-mercedes-starship-technologies

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Oh, women! 100-year commemoration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

One hundred years ago, on August 18th1920, the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting all American women the right to vote. The Amendment states:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." [Original 19th Amendment document]

The 19th Amendment, voted by Congress a year earlier, on  June 4, 1919, was the culmination of an almost 70-year struggle led by the US suffragette movement. The milestone marked the institutional onset of gender equality in the US. However, in practice, many historians concur that suffrage for Black women (and men) in the South would have to wait for the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, almost 40 years later, when Jim Crow Laws were abolished (Waxman, 2020). Indeed, Jim Crow Laws, such as literacy tests for voting and polling taxes, continued to effectively, and efficiently, disenfranchise both black men and women, as well as other disadvantaged minorities, such as immigrants and the poor. Together with local and state laws that upheld the “separate but equal” 1896 Supreme Court ruling, making it possible to prevent blacks from accessing transportation and public places, including schools, Jim Crow laws collectively functioned to segregate the South. Segregation laws that consolidated the malevolent legacy of White Supremacy, with justice in lynchings, that still fuels racial violence, and hatred, to date. A deep cleavage in American society, now clearly documented, unmasked, and condemned, anew, in the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement incidentally founded by three fearless women: Opal Tometti, Alicia Garza and Patrisse Kahn-Cullors.

Looking back at the 100 years since ratification of the 19th Amendment, The Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse points out that while much has been gained in extending suffrage to women, much more still needs to be achieved in the struggle for gender equality. Interestingly, she states: “The history of women voting is still a history of having representation without being represented”. Indeed, Hesse informs us that the 19th Amendment was voted by an all-male Congress. Fifty years later, just one senator and 10 representatives were female. In 2020, an all-time high of 127 women are representatives in Congress, which still comprises just one-quarter of the votes.  As a result of the absence of parity, laws concerning women issues, such as abortion, maternity leave and childcare, are still being voted (or rejected) by a majority of men, even if the 19th Amendment also produced women legislators on all sides of the political spectrum, both conservative and liberal.

 Looking at positive change, for all, resulting from the 19th Amendment vote, Hesse cites studies showing that the extension of suffrage to women corresponded to an increase in public health spending, as well as in health-related education campaigns for infectious diseases, such as diphtheria and typhoid fever. Thus, child-mortality rates also declined at that time. Likewise, education budgets increased, keeping children in school for longer periods of time. Indeed, according to Hesse, “spending increased and the government got bigger.”

However, on August 18, 2020, one hundred years post-ratification of the 19th Amendment, another defining event should be recorded.  A stimulating possibility that the 19th century Suffragettes no doubt had foreseen as a perfectly logical consequence of universal suffrage. Indeed, the nomination of Kamela Harris, a black and Asian-American woman as Vice-President (potentially the second-in-command of the United States Executive) in the Biden 2020 presidential campaign, arises both as an extraordinary “first” and a natural consequence of the 19th Amendmenteven if it is just a bit overdue. 

To test your knowledge of the brave and daring 19th century Suffragette movement, take the tests at the Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative website, QUIZ1QUIZ2 and STATE QUIZZES. Also, remember to celebrate! Today is indeed a special day.


References

19th Amendment of the US Constitution: Women’s right to vote (1920) [Original Document] https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?flash=false&doc=63

Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Hesse, M. (Aug 3, 2020) Women’s suffrage was a giant leap for democracy. We haven’t stuck the landing yet.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/100-years-of-womens-suffrage-whats-changed/

Waxman, O. (Aug 14, 2020) 'It's a Struggle They Will Wage Alone.' How Black Women Earned the Right to Vote. Time.com https://time.com/5876456/black-women-right-to-vote/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-brief&utm_content=20200815&et_rid=110860530

Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative (WVCI): https://www.2020centennial.org/

Monday, August 17, 2020

Oh, patents! Starship Robots (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Brought to you by the Finnish founders and designers of SKYPE, Starship robots are small 99% autonomous vehicle robots, able to operate within a 4-mile radius. These elegant little robots, equipped with sophisticated obstacle-avoidance technology, Lidar sensors, cameras and voiced interaction capacity, roll around sidewalks on 6 wheels, at pedestrian speed. They are 99% autonomous because their routes are always monitored by human remote operators, just in case something went wrong.

Starship robots deliver goods, food and packages, usually in less than 15 minutes, directly to ordering customers in those areas where vendors have contracted the fleets. This way, for example, at a corporate campus, no one wastes time waiting in line, or having to go to a restaurant. The robot meets the customer, upon demand, at a pinned location to deliver orders, sending notifications of estimated arrival time and arrival, via the Starship app, which also handles orders, payments, route tracking, and unlocking of the robot to access the payload. Alternatively, Starship robots also offer a sustainable ecommerce delivery option that decongests roads, where too many delivery vehicles are circulating to meet the ever increasing demands of online customers. In other words, in solving the “last mile” logistics of moving goods efficiently, and cost-effectively, the little electric vehicle robots also do their part to reduce global warming.

The YouTube video below shows an example of a Starship robot delivery. 


Prepandemic, the Starship fleet of 150 robots had driven more than 9000 miles, in 53 cities, in 16 countries, where they met with more than 1.2 million people. In the US, Starship also partnered with DoorDash, specialists in delivery services. 

During the pandemic, the demand for delivery robots such as the Starship robots skyrocketed, according to Forbes.com contributor, Bernard Marr, on May 29, 2020.  Social distancing orders and the lockdown were the primary reasons for the exponential increase in demand, since the driverless robots (which never get sick) can deliver contactless service (e.g.; groceries, take-out food, prescriptions, or small parcels etc.) directly to clients, sheltering-at-home. Considering the convenience, Marr even predicted that Starship robots, and other similar delivery robots, would be here to stay as part of the new-normal post-pandemic. Likewise, The New York Times correspondent Cade Metz and business journalist Erin Griffith, reached the same conclusions, when they stated: “The sudden usefulness of the robots to people staying in their homes is a tantalizing hint of what the machines could one day accomplish — at least under ideal conditions.“ The only caveat will be obtaining municipal clearance for the increased number of vehicle robots circulating everywhere on sidewalks and streets.

All aspects the Starship robots and delivery system are patented. From insulation capacity of the payload container, to the robotics of obstacle avoidance, edge finding and navigation in low-light conditions, including systems and methods of freight delivery and distribution.  Approximately 100 patents have been granted to cover all the inventive aspects and components of the Starship Robots.  

The following is an exemplary and non-exhaustive list of the Starship patents, including World Intellectual Property Oganisation (WO- Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents, United States (US) utility patents, Canadian (CA) patents, British (GB) patents and European (EP - European Patent Convention) patents:

  • US10005609B1 Device and system for insulating items during delivery by a mobile robot
  • CA187741S Delivery robot
  • CA187743S Delivery robot
  • CA187742S Delivery robot
  • CA174441S Delivery robot
  • CA167756S Delivery robot 
  • CA172068S Delivery robot
  • GB2567988A System and mobile freight station, and method for distributing, delivering and collecting freight
  • US20190168392A1 Storage system, use and method with robotic parcel retrieval and loading 
  • US20180349834A1 Method and system for delivering items
  • US20180253108A1 Mobile robot system and method for generating map data using straight lines
  • US10239378B2 Robot and method for traversing vertical obstacles
  • US10239378B2 Robot and method for traversing vertical obstacles
  • US20180244327A1 Obstacle traversing mobile robot
  • US10282995B2  Mobile robot having collision avoidance system for crossing a road from a pedestrian pathway
  • US9741010B1 System and methods for securely delivering packages to different delivery recipients with a single vehicle
  • US20180232839A1 Method and system for autonomous or semi-autonomous delivery
  • EP3330908A1 System and method for securely delivering packages to different delivery recipients with a single vehicle
  • EP3510562A1 Method and system for calibrating multiple cameras
  • WO2018215579A1 Method and system for swapping and/or charging a battery of a mobile robot
  • WO2018108832A9 Robot, system and method detecting and/or responding to transitions in height

  • WO2018215581A1 A battery and a system for swapping and/or charging a battery of a mobile robot

  • WO2019048332A1

    Mobile robot having collision avoidance system for crossing a road from a pedestrian pathway
  • WO2019053162A1 System and method for item delivery by a mobile robot
  • WO2018206514A1

    A signaling device and system for increasing visibility of a mobile robot
  • WO2019020407A1 Device and system for secure package delivery by mobile robot


  • WO2019068634A1  

    Device and system for consumable item delivery by mobile robot
  • US20190236741A1  System and mobile freight station and method for distribution, delivery and collection of freight

  • WO2018215562A1

     Device and method for detection and localization of vehicles
  • WO2018024851A1 Vehicle

  • WO2018099930A1 System and method for securely delivering packages to different delivery recipients with a single vehicle

  • WO2018215583A1 A device and system for increasing tolerance in a battery station

  • WO2018024852A1 Vehicle having a loading device

  • WO2019086465A1 Visual localization and mapping in low light conditions
  • WO2018077619A1 Sidewalk and edge finder system and method

 References

Starship Technologies (website) https://www.starship.xyz/

Marr, B. (May 209, 2020) Demand For These Autonomous Delivery Robots Is Skyrocketing During This Pandemic. Forbes.com https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/05/29/demand-for-these-autonomous-delivery-robots-is-skyrocketing-during-this-pandemic/#7bb9d9fd7f3c

Metz, C. & E. Griffith (May 20, 2020) A City Locks Down to Fight Coronavirus, but Robots Come and Go. NY Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/technology/delivery-robots-coronavirus-milton-keynes.html

Friday, August 7, 2020

COVID -19 - The robots are coming!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In 2018, observers were already predicting more robots everywhere, whether in kitchens, restaurants, warehouses, or surgery rooms (Marston, 2018; About Da Vinci). Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, robots are in even greater demand, for reasons not entirely unforeseen. For example, robots have long been used for performing tasks dangerous to humans, such as working in radioactive environments, in deep space or deep in the ocean, and for fire-fighting (Matthews, 2018; Iborra et al., 2003). Thus, it comes as no huge surprise that robots, which never get sick, might now be sought for working in the highly contagious situations of the COVID 19 pandemic (Albrecht, April 24, 2020). At the end of the day, what is interesting is the diversity of ways in which robots are indeed becoming increasingly instrumental, within the specifically unprecedented context of the COVID 19 pandemic.

For example, the demand for food delivery robots, is increasing. For shuttered restaurants, permitted only to retain “take-out” activity, delivery robots expand the client base to similarly shuttered clients. Likewise, for the newly mandated “socially-distant modes of interaction”, delivery robots reduce both interactions among humans, and the number of people in contact with food (Albrecht, May 13, 2020). If delivery robots solved “the last-mile delivery problem” (i.e.; an estimated 41% of the logistics costs for moving goods) prior to the pandemic (Dolan, 2018), they now solve the last mile with bonuses. Robots are far easier to control for sanitation than human hand-washing, or the absence of fever and symptoms. Indeed, robots are in. More than welcome, they are a blessing. On the upside of drastic “stay-at-home” orders, sidewalks are now clear of pedestrians, which also facilitates robot navigation.

Kiwibots are an example of a robot-based food-delivery system that charmed campuses, prior to the pandemic. Kiwibots were not only cute because they delivered burritos or pizza from participating restaurants and stores, with a wink and a smile --  right to your doorstep or location. The company Kiwi Campus Inc., developed a business model that relied on robotics-loving student groups to scale up the delivery service at new campuses. 

Robotics-loving students themselves, originally hailing from The University of the Andes in Bogota, Columbia, the Kiwi Campus Inc., founders, Felipe Chávez Cortés, Jason Oviedo and Sergio Pachón, now based at UC Berkeley, banked on others with the same aspirations, keeping the whole enterprise in the hands of people who were truly enthusiastic and committed. As a result, the company was managing 10,000 deliveries a day, in 2019, just two years after its inception (Coldeway, 2019). Now, as campuses are closed, the company continues to expand, partnering with Ordermark the online ordering management company for restaurants, and Shopify, a cloud-based multichannel commerce platform for small and medium-sized companies, both having agreed to include on their platforms, an option for a Kiwibot fleet, delivering food and goods. New partnerships for Kiwibots that are now being launched in the San José, California, downtown and Buena Vista areas (Korosec, July 2020).

Kiwibots are semi-autonomous vehicles, which means that they rely on sophisticated sensor technology to navigate sidewalks on their itineraries, in coordination with a team of human teleoperators, based in Bogota, Columbia. The supervising bogotanos manage all of the Kiwibot sidewalk crossings, for example, and are on standby to respond to any emergencies that might arise (McDonald, 2019).  Such a team of teleoperators was included because autonomous kiwibots were not quite 100% safe, which was not good enough, according to the company (Coldeway, 2019).

Below, a Youtube video, showing A day in the life of a kiwibot, from the perspective of the robot. A visualizing functionality also available to customers, using the kiwibots app for tracking their deliveries.

If you are in downtown San José, for one reason or another, remember to keep an eye out for one of the cute Kiwibots, which might be sharing sidewalks for delivering their payload to happy customers!

References

About Da Vinci Systems: Surgical robotics for minimally invasive surgery.. https://www.davincisurgery.com/da-vinci-systems/about-da-vinci-systems

Albrecht, C. (April 24, 2020) Bear Robotics CEO on the Role of Restaurant Server Robots in a COVID (and Beyond) World.  https://thespoon.tech/bear-robotics-ceo-on-the-role-of-restaurant-server-robots-in-a-covid-and-beyond-world/

Albrecht, C. (May 13, 2020) From Restaurants Floors to Your Front Door, Food Robots are on the Rise. https://thespoon.tech/from-restaurants-floors-to-your-front-door-food-robots-are-on-the-rise/

Coldeway, D. (April 25, 2019) Kiwi’s food delivery bots are rolling out to 12 new colleges. TechCrunchhttps://techcrunch.com/2019/04/25/kiwis-food-delivery-bots-are-rolling-out-to-12-new-colleges/

Dolan, S. (May 10, 2018) The challenges of last-mile delivery logistics & the technology solutions cutting costs. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/last-mile-delivery-shipping-explained

Iborra , A., Pastor, J. A., Alvarez, B, Fernanadez, C and J. M. F. Merono  (2003) Robots in radioactive environments.  IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine ,Volume: 10 , Issue: 4 , Dec. 2003. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1256294

Korosec, K. (July 21, 2020) Kiwibot delivery robots head to San Jose with new partners Shopify and Ordermark. TechCrunchhttps://tinyurl.com/y4fsx8eb

Kiwibots. https://www.kiwibot.com/

Kiwi Campus Organization. TechCrunch. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kiwi-campus

Marston, J. (Oct. 2018) Expect More Robots and Fewer Menus in the Restaurant of 2030 (Oct 2018). https://thespoon.tech/expect-more-robots-and-fewer-menus-in-the-restaurant-of-2030/

Matthews, K. (April 19, 2018) 5 ways robots help keep people safe. Robotics Tomorrow. https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2018/04/5-ways-robots-help-keep-people-safe/11783/

McDonald, C. (2019) Hungry for Kiwi… bots UC Berkeley Alumini – California Magazine – Spring 2019. https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/spring-2019/hungry-kiwibots

Ordermark. https://www.ordermark.com/

Shopify. https://www.shopify.com/

Staff (June 1, 2018) Kiwi’s little robot that could (deliver the last mile). PYMNTS.com. https://www.pymnts.com/news/delivery/2018/kiwi-robot-delivery-last-mile/

Sunday, August 2, 2020

In print! Patents on the Soles of Your Shoes (Volume 2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
 
The second volume of Patents on the Soles of Your Shoes has doubled in size. From Isotoner® slippers that fit like gloves, to Frank Gehry’s woven-lattice furniture; from Roomba®, the autonomous floor-cleaning robot, to the Australian Blue Lizard®, UV-sensing Smart Bottle® for sunscreen, and Google's heart hand-gestures, this volume covers some extraordinary inventions that rock the most diverse aspects of our daily lives. Approximately 250 patents are cited in this volume, together with patent abstracts, and square QR Codes, enabling to connect to the source patents, directly from the pages of this book.
List price : $42.00
6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
222  pages, Full color
ISBN-13:  978-1542406550
ISBN-10: 1542406552
BISAC: Reference / General