When delivery robots enter public spaces: A longitudinal study of Starship robots in Stockholm
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Linköpings universitet - Linköpings universitet Inst för kultur och samhälle |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 381 876 |
| Project duration | May 2025 - May 2027 |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Venture | Strategic Innovation Program Drive Sweden |
| Call | Strategic innovation program Drive Sweden: Innovations for a sustainable, digitized and automated transport system for people and goods |
Purpose and goal
The project aims to develop an empirically grounded understanding of how the deployment of a new transport technology – a fleet of delivery robots – impacts the local community. The goal is to use empirical evidence in the form of video recordings of the behaviour of people who encounter the robots and interviews with people on the street to inform policies for the deployment of autonomous public delivery robots in Sweden, and the development of standards for public mobile robots globally.
Expected effects and result
Robots have the potential to make last-mile delivery more accessible and effective. The project will deepen our understanding of a) how the robots and their operations integrate with local communities, and b) how the robots impact and are impacted by the behaviour of people who encounter them on the street. From these trials, we will c) develop policy implications, and d) prepare a larger implementation project building on these first deployments.
Planned approach and implementation
The project follows the first deployment of a fleet of delivery robots in Sweden. We look at everyday interactions with the robots in public spaces and will document mundane interactions as they emerge in real time through video recordings, complemented by notes and interviews on the street. We will then ground our discussion about policies for delivery robots in specific case examples and empirical descriptions of challenges as they emerge on the street.