Starship Technologies, a leading provider of autonomous delivery robots, has accused the British pedestrian safety charity Living Streets of selectively editing video footage that showed one of its robots colliding with a wheelchair user. The dispute centers on a campaign video released last month by Living Streets, which aimed to highlight safety concerns regarding the deployment of six-wheeled delivery robots on UK pavements.
Living Streets, established in 1929 and credited with helping introduce the zebra crossing, has expressed concern that these foot-high robots, which travel at approximately 4 mph and can carry up to three bags of shopping, pose risks to pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities. The charity’s campaign featured incidents including a robot colliding head-on with an 18-year-old wheelchair user identified as Emily Green, a separate situation where a visually impaired pedestrian with a guide dog tripped over one of the machines, and an episode where a wheelchair user appeared trapped in a narrow street between a robot and another pedestrian.
In response, Starship Technologies, based in Estonia and known for its partnerships with supermarkets and takeaway services across the UK, provided camera and sensor data extracted from the robots involved in the incidents. The company asserts that the data reveals the robot began adjusting its course after detecting Green’s approach but that she accelerated toward the robot as it turned away, resulting in the collision. Regarding the instance where Green became trapped, Starship contends that there was ample space on the pavement and that the wheelchair user opted to take a narrower route. The firm disputes the charity’s portrayal of the events as misleading, claiming the footage was edited to create a false impression of the robots blocking or crowding pedestrian pathways.
Lisa Johnson, Starship’s vice president, stated that the organization sought constructive dialogue with Living Streets to improve how robotic deliveries coexist with pedestrian traffic, including disabled users, but accused the charity of declining meeting requests. Johnson emphasized Starship’s record of completing 11 million deliveries across multiple countries and asserted that the campaign video misrepresented the actual amount of pavement space available during the encounters.
Emily Green contested Starship's interpretation, noting that she relies on dropped kerbs specifically designed to aid wheelchair users and emphasized her limited options when navigating pavement routes. Living Streets subsequently released unedited footage showing a bystander expressing surprise that the robot did not stop and checking on Green’s condition. The charity stressed that its intent was to assess how delivery robots interact with disabled pedestrians and cautioned that safety testing should have been conducted before such devices entered public spaces.
Living Streets maintains that the introduction of these delivery robots introduces new hazards for vulnerable pavement users, while Starship defends the safety and utility of its technology, underscoring the ongoing debate about integrating autonomous machines into pedestrian environments. The robot maker has indicated it may escalate the issue to the Charity Commission if Living Streets does not address its concerns over the video portrayal.