Product guide
What Is a Starship Delivery Robot and Where Can It Deliver? (2026)
Starship Technologies operates the most widely deployed autonomous sidewalk delivery service in the world, primarily on college campuses and closed communities. If you have seen a small six-wheeled robot rolling down the sidewalk near a university, it is likely a Starship. Here is how it works and where you can use it.
Where Starship bots operate
Starship primarily targets environments with predictable, pedestrian-friendly sidewalk infrastructure: college campuses (where the density of meal orders justifies deployment), military installations, planned retirement communities, and corporate campuses. In the US, partners include dozens of universities including George Mason University, Northern Arizona University, and University of Pittsburgh.
International deployments exist in the UK (Milton Keynes was an early UK city deployment), Germany, and Tallinn, Estonia (near Starship's European operations). The service is not available in most residential neighborhoods; it requires the company to have previously mapped the area and partnered with a local institution.
How the robot works
Each Starship bot carries up to 10 kg of cargo in a sealed, lockable compartment. It navigates at walking speed (up to about 4 mph) using a combination of cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and GPS. The robot uses visual mapping of its environment and has been trained on each deployment location.
For situations the bot cannot handle autonomously (complex intersections, unusual obstacles, difficult lighting), Starship's remote operations center can observe and assist. The bots are designed to stop and wait rather than attempt a risky maneuver when uncertain.
Other sidewalk delivery robots
Starship is the largest US campus deployment, but other sidewalk delivery robots operate in commercial settings. Coco Bot operates in LA via Uber Eats and DoorDash partnerships (remotely piloted, not fully autonomous). Serve Robotics Gen 3 partners with Uber Eats for LA sidewalk delivery. Kiwibot operates at select universities and urban deployments. Amazon Scout paused deployment after a trial period.