These cute electric robots may soon deliver your dinner
Kiwibot is a last-mile delivery service that has completed over 150,000 food deliveries using electric semi-autonomous robots. Yesterday, the company announced its official expansion into San Jose, Miami-Dade County, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. Each of the four cities will be given up to 10 robots with one human supervisor.
How does Kiwibot work?
Kiwibot delivers food using electric semi-autonomous robots. They look like cute lunchboxes on wheels with a cheeky little flag. (Come to think of it, I guess they are lunchboxes on wheels.) Kiwibot has built 400 robots since it launched in 2017 and deployed them on the University of California-Berkeley campus and in San Jose in 2020. It’s also been running pilot programs in the above four cities.
Kiwibots secure their cargo using a locking door. The robots open the Inner Container Door without human help at the restaurant. The restaurant staff then places the food inside the container. As soon as the food is secured inside, the robot automatically closes and locks the door.
When the Kiwibot reaches its delivery destination, it sends an app notification that allows the person to click “unlock door.” The door automatically opens, and the customer removes their food. Then the robot’s door closes and automatically locks again.
Kiwibot has been charging $3.99 per delivery, a cost that businesses can choose to absorb or pass on to consumers.
Does Kiwibot have a bigger purpose?
Yes. The company is partnered with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which launched a self-driving initiative in 2018.
Kiwibot and the Knight Foundation have been working to increase opportunities for locally owned businesses. They also want to provide more equitable access to food, medication, and other goods.
Further, Kiwibot and the Knight Foundation want to ensure that the robots are deployed in areas where they can operate safely among pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.
What does Kiwibot mean by semi-autonomous?
TechCrunch explained in July 2020, when Kiwibot launched its pilot in San Jose:
The delivery bots are equipped with a camera and are capable of detecting objects and navigating around them. However, the bots are also supported and controlled remotely by humans in certain scenarios, who can monitor up to three robots remotely. These teleoperators, or supervisors, as Kiwibot calls them, provide path planning, a method of setting and adjusting way points along a route. They can also step in and take direct control of the bot when problems arise. The supervisors, many of which are located in Colombia, from where [CEO Felipe] Chavez and his cofounder Sergio Pachón originally hail, also control the bot on all traffic crossings, according to the company.
What’s the robots’ range, and how do they charge?
They can operate for at least 10 hours, and they can achieve a distance of up to 12.4 miles (20 km) within those 10 hours. They are completely electric and take four hours to charge. They charge on a 120v outlet.
Do the robots do anything else besides look cute and deliver burritos?
Yes. They map areas and collect sidewalk and infrastructure data using the Mobility Data Specifications (MDS) framework and an automated data collection system.
Further, Kiwibot’s robots could eventually share data about sidewalk conditions and vehicle and pedestrian traffic with city authorities, helping US cities become more accessible and safer.
How do we know the robots actually work?
Since June 2021, Kiwibot’s robots in the four cities have already traveled 1,455 miles, mapped 368 miles, and delivered 20,000 data points for city and county authorities.
Electrek’s Take
We cover electric vehicles. These robots are electric vehicles. And so far, so good, with Kiwibot’s deployment of these little guys.
Last-mile deliveries have skyrocketed, thanks to the pandemic. If the robots can operate on streets able to accommodate them and get gas cars off the streets and thus reduce emissions, congestion, and traffic, then we’re all for them. They’re an electric last-mile solution.
And as the US is – hopefully – on the brink of a major infrastructure overhaul, gathering data to roll out more efficient upgrades to city streets is only going to help. You get your burrito, your city finds out what needs fixing, everybody wins.
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Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
Blondie drummer Clem Burke has died at the age of 70
The band said Blurke had been diagnosed with cancer, and described his death as a “profound loss”.
He featured on all the Debbie Harry-fronted group’s studio albums since joining a year after their formation in 1975.
Blurke was with the band from their self-titled debut, through their 1978 classic Parallel Lines, to 2017’s Pollinator.
Drummer Burke.
Pic: Reuters
In a statement on Blondie’s Instagram, Harry and the band’s guitarist, Chris Stein, said: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.
“Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.
“His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie, a self-proclaimed ‘rock and roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists.”
Burke in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP
Burke featured on Iggy Pop’s 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse and also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Joan Jett.
The statement went on to say Burke had left an “indelible mark on every project he was part of”.
It added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched.”
Burke, who performed on classic tracks such as Call Me, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, made his final live appearance with Blondie last year.
Read more from Sky News:
King arrives in Rome for Italy tour with Queen after health concerns
Global bank chiefs hold talks over Trump tariffs crisis
Blondie performing during Glastonbury Festival in 2023.
Pic: Invision/AP
Among those paying tribute to him was Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, who said: “I feel saddened that Clem Burke was taken from us so soon.
“May he rest in peace, spectacular drumming, we were friends.”
Nancy Sinatra said: “My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of Blondie, but he was also an important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend.
“If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him.”
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