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This robot will deliver a burrito to your door

Feeling peckish? DoorDash is using Starship robots to deliver food in Redwood City, California.

Lexy Savvides Principal Video Producer
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
Expertise Wearables, smartwatches, mobile phones, photography, health tech, assistive robotics Credentials
  • Webby Award honoree, 2x Gold Telly Award winner
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Lexy Savvides
Watch this: Robots are delivering food to your door

Your next food order could be delivered by a robot.

DoorDash is running a pilot program in Redwood City, California, using Starship robots to deliver food from restaurants to customers. Postmates is already using these same robots in Washington, DC.

Up to a dozen delivery robots will roam the city covering short distances of one to two miles. Each unit has nine cameras and ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection as they're designed to travel on sidewalks with pedestrians rather than on roads. These cameras also recognize traffic lights and crosswalk signals to navigate to their destination safely.

The robots can coast at speeds up to 10 mph, but are limited to 4 mph for safety.

Once an order is placed, the robot navigates to the restaurant where an employee or DoorDash handler puts the food inside the robot's container. To prevent food theft, the container can only be unlocked by the recipient.

In case someone tries to steal or vandalize the robot, it's equipped with cameras, GPS and alert systems. Handlers will accompany them for the time being, but eventually they'll be monitored remotely.