Bloomfield residents may soon share the sidewalks with robots on their way to make deliveries.

Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure is planning a pilot program to test out personal delivery devices, or PDDs, in the area starting this summer.

The devices, which come from Los Angeles-based tech company Kiwibot, can roll down sidewalks to make deliveries in about 30 minutes. Under Pennsylvania law, they can legally move at up to 12 mph on sidewalks.

If the Bloomfield pilot program follows Kiwibot’s tracks in Santa Monica, Calif., where the devices operate, the bots could be dropping off takeout orders with their big expressive eyes.

The six-month pilot program is meant to help the city learn more about how this type of technology could affect the community, according to a DOMI flyer. It is in preparation for an influx of such bots, which DOMI thinks could come in the next two years.

Erin Clark, a policy analyst with DOMI, said the urgency around engaging with these technologies picked up after the state legislature enacted a law last November to authorize PDDs in Pennsylvania. Big tech and retail companies are starting to deploy these devices nationwide and Pittsburgh officials want to prepare for their arrival.

“The reality of the PDDs right now … they’re focusing on delivering food primarily to younger, affluent neighborhoods and that doesn’t really serve any of the city’s goals,” Ms. Clark said. “What we want to learn is about the safety of these devices, but if this is something that’s coming, how can we incentivize that these companies and devices serve real local needs.”

The city chose Bloomfield for the pilot program because it reaches a diverse demographic of residents, has a dense commercial district and has “reasonably wide sidewalks … by Pittsburgh standards at least.”

The Kiwibot devices are outfitted with cameras, lights, speakers and sensors to help them interact in urban environments.

The bots have always been expressive — their screens can flash faces that are sleepy, angry or happy and display messages like “hello” and “have a nice day.” The latest iteration of the device, which Kiwibot released earlier this month, has 22 faces and has learned to wink.

Since launching in 2017, Kiwibot has built more than 400 robots that have delivered 150,000 orders. The bots are expected to expand to Pittsburgh, Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Jose in May.

The technology is meant to bring down delivery cost, speed up delivery time and cut congestion caused by cars making those drop-offs, according to the company.

The devices can meet customers up to a mile away. An average trip takes about 30 minutes and costs $1.99, with no tip expected.

The semi-autonomous robots are equipped with sensors that help it plan a path, make decisions and detect obstacles like people, traffic lights and other vehicles. Humans remotely supervise the bots to help them cross streets or stop if necessary, according to the company.

The six-month pilot program is tentatively scheduled to run from June through November on Bloomfield’s streets, according to DOMI.

City officials plan to use the time to learn more about the tech and submit feedback to the state’s Department of Transportation, which authorizes the use of PDDs in Pennsylvania. According to DOMI, state law prohibits local authorities from regulating the operation of the devices.

The specifics of the program, like which routes the bots will take and which businesses will participate, are still being determined, Ms. Clark said. Throughout the duration of the program, no more than 10 bots will ever operate at one time.

The city is funding the $85,000 pilot program through a Knight Foundation grant that is aimed at educating the public about self-driving technologies.

At the end of the pilot, the city expects to release an evaluation report that begins to answer regarding these devices and possible plans for moving forward.

“We really wanted to understand through this pilot whether these devices can serve and improve the lives of residents,” Ms. Clark said. “Maybe the answer is ‘No, these caused a lot headaches.’ Or maybe it’s actually ‘These could serve a community need but this and this needs to be changed or the technology needs to improve in this way.’ ”

No personal delivery devices currently operate in Pennsylvania and PennDOT has not received any applications, said a spokesperson for the department.

Test at Pitt

The Bloomfield program won’t be the first time robotic deliveries were tested on the city’s streets. The University of Pittsburgh deployed a fleet of 30 devices to deliver coffee, bagels and sandwiches along Fifth Avenue in January 2020.

The bots, which were made and operated by San Francisco-based Starship Technologies, had a bumpy ride to deployment. Pitt pulled the devices from street testing in 2019 after a student who uses a wheelchair reported that one of the robots impeded her effort to reach a sidewalk.

“I (in a wheelchair) was just trapped *on* Forbes Ave by one of these robots, only days after their independent rollout. I can tell that as long as they continue to operate, they are going to be a major accessibility and safety issue,” the then fifth-year doctoral student Emily Ackerman tweeted about her experience.

Pitt and Starship resumed testing that fall with a “soft” launch that encouraged customer feedback.

The bots were paused again in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic emptied the campus, Ms. Clark said.

On Twitter, residents weren’t sold on the delivery devices coming to Bloomfield.

One user speculated they would take up too much space in an area that leaves little room for pedestrians. Another worried about the jobs the bots could take from delivery drivers. Another thought the bots were at risk of constantly being knocked over — and not by accident.

“I think the big picture concerns that residents probably have are shared by the city,” Ms. Clark said. “Sidewalks as we know them are for people, pets, people using wheelchairs, people pushing strollers, people window shopping … If we’re going to put machines in this space, that’s concerning.

“We want to be informed by experience to create local policies that kind of say, ‘If you’re going to come in and operate these kinds of devices on our sidewalk, here’s what we expect from you.’ ”

The Bloomfield Development Corporation and DOMI are holding a public meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. to discuss the proposed pilot program.

Lauren Rosenblatt: lrosenblatt@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1565. 

First Published: April 21, 2021, 10:15 a.m.
Updated: April 21, 2021, 10:41 a.m.