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6. K. - Page 1 of 24 <br />/<�ik <br />Redwood <br />CitylCallifornia <br />Faunded 1867 <br />A,&/ <br />DATE: May 6, 2019 <br />SUBJECT <br />STAFF REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br />Renewal of a pilot program that will allow the use of autonomous robots, also known as Personal Delivery <br />Devices (PDD), for delivery of goods in Redwood City for a period of up to 24 months. <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Adopt a resolution approving the renewal of a pilot program to allow the use of autonomous robots, also <br />known as Personal Delivery Devices (PDD), to deliver goods in Redwood City. <br />STRATEGIC INITIATIVE <br />Economic Development <br />BACKGROUND <br />In 2016, the City Council approved a nine-month pilot program allowing Starship Technologies, Inc. <br />(Starship) to operate their Personal Delivery Devices (PDD) on Redwood City sidewalks. Use of PDDs may <br />help reduce traffic in Redwood City as the PDDs operate on City sidewalks, not on City roads, and deliveries <br />may occur to homes, reducing customer vehicle traffic as well. Additionally, they allow for some <br />restaurants and businesses to serve a greater number of customers, supporting business activity and <br />customer convenience. Due to the success of the initial pilot program, in 2017 the City Council authorized <br />the extension of the pilot program for another year. Starship has been delivering to Redwood City <br />residences and businesses since February 2017 in partnership with Door Dash and Post Mates. During <br />these previous pilot programs, they were making 30 to 40 deliveries a day using 12 robots. <br />The latest version of Starship PDDs are equipped with a suite of sensors that include cameras, global <br />positioning systems (GPS) and an inertial measurement unit, which is used to maneuver autonomous <br />devices and allows the GPS to work when GPS signals are unavailable. They weigh up to 80 pounds, can <br />carry the equivalent of three grocery bags, and have an optimal delivery range of two to four miles with <br />a maximum speed of four miles per hour. While a PDD is in transit, it is locked and secure, and can only <br />be opened using the customer's mobile application on their smartphone. Customers can establish their <br />deliverytimes, tracktheir items while in transit on the "Starship-Deliveries" mobile application at all times, <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore <br />242 <br />