Resolution 2021-02: STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES

WHEREAS, food and grocery delivery services are becoming extremely popular among consumers; and

WHEREAS, Starship Technologies provides a way for consumers to receive food, groceries, and other items via autonomous robot delivery; and

WHEREAS, Starship Technologies continues to expand its services to dozens of cities and college campuses with more than 2 million deliveries so far; and

WHEREAS, use of this service requires the consumer to order through a mobile application; and

WHEREAS, the Starship mobile application is not fully accessible with screen reading software for the blind, a particular irony because the corporation’s business offices are headquartered in San Francisco where accessibility is a strong expectation; and

WHEREAS, the robots themselves have sometimes been found to be a hazard to pedestrians by stopping in the middle of sidewalks and blocking curb cuts; and

WHEREAS, the robots do not always identify themselves, making it difficult for a blind person to identify the robot’s location when it arrives at a consumer’s address to deliver groceries; and

WHEREAS, Starship Technologies has no phone number for consumers to call when they experience problems. Consumers must contact Starship Technologies via email which delays communication that might help resolve immediate problems; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of California in virtual convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of October, 2021 that the National Federation of the Blind of California urge Starship Technologies to seek and act upon input from blind consumers to build accessible features into their mobile application and web site; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon Starship Technologies to work with the National Federation of the Blind of California to ensure autonomous robots do not threaten pedestrian safety and are easily identifiable by blind consumers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NFB of California urge Starship Technologies to create an accessible identification system for autonomous robots so that any person may report any device which threatens pedestrian safety or is defective; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind of California urge Starship Technologies to provide a telephone number in an easily identifiable location on its web site, on its devices and in its mobile application for consumers to use to immediately contact Starship Technologies to resolve problems.

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