Virginia is the first state to pass a law allowing robots to deliver straight to your door
Idaho and Florida may be next.
Virginia has made robotics history. The commonwealth is
the first state to pass legislation allowing delivery robots to operate
on sidewalks and crosswalks across the state.
The new law goes into effect on July 1 and was signed into law by the governor last Friday.
The two Virginia lawmakers who sponsored the bill, Ron
Villanueva and Bill DeSteph, teamed up with Starship Technologies, an
Estonian-based ground delivery robotics company, to draft the
legislation.
Robots operating under the new law won’t be able to
exceed 10 miles per hour or weigh over 50 pounds, but they will be
allowed to rove autonomously.
The law doesn’t require robots to stay within line of
sight of a person in control, but a person is required to at least
remotely monitor the robot and take over if it goes awry. Robots are
only allowed on streets in a crosswalk.
Municipalities in the state are allowed to regulate how
robots will operate locally, like if a city council wants to impose a
stricter speed limit or keep them out entirely.
“There wasn’t push back [from legislators],” Rep. Villanueva said in an interview with Recode.
“It was more like intrigue and curiosity about the technology, what the
application would be, how it would benefit the citizens.”
Companies like Amazon and Grubhub sent Virginia lawmakers
letters of support to pass the new robotic delivery law, said Rep.
Villanueva.
Though Starship Technologies helped to pass the new law,
it also opens the doors to other ground delivery robotics companies to
operate in Virginia, too. Companies like Marble and Dispatch are also
working to bring robots for autonomous delivery to city sidewalks.
Starship is already testing its robots with Postmates in Washington, D.C., and DoorDash in Redwood City, Calif.
Legislation similar to what passed in Virginia has been proposed in both Idaho and Florida.
Legalized in Virginia
quote from:
Virginia
has made robotics history. The commonwealth is the first state to pass
legislation allowing delivery ... t require robots to stay within line
of sight of a person in control, but a person is required to at least
remotely … 3/1/2017
Story from: Recode
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is no doubt that delivery robots are nearly ... states throughout the
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