Cambridge delivery robots form orderly queue at traffic lights

Seven robots (two out of shot) lined up and waited through several light changes before one eventually crossed

A photo of delivery robots patiently queuing at a pedestrian crossing has prompted dozens of comments from people on Facebook.

The Starship Technologies robots were introduced in Cambridge this month.

Cyclist Naomi Davies spotted the queue of seven in Coleridge Road on Tuesday and said they waited through three changes of lights before one crossed.

Starship said robots were not "shy" about asking for help, but in a very "English" way, were "happy to queue".

Ms Davies had stopped on the corner of Coleridge Road and Davy Road at about 19:30 GMT and watched the robots as they sat at the crossing.

"I thought the first one was going to go when the lights changed but it just started manoeuvring and shuffled about a bit and then stopped," she said.

"At one point a dog came by and one robot sort of lurched around the dog and then seemed to get stuck."

The robots were introduced into parts of Cambridge earlier this month

Her photo of five robots in a queue (with a further two out of shot), posted on the Odd Things Around Cambridge Facebook group, prompted dozens of comments, with many asking how they were supposed to reach the button at the pedestrian crossing.

"One of the robots asked a lady if she would please press the button - I think she was rather surprised a robot was speaking to her," Ms Davies explained.

She said after three changes of the lights, the first robot crossed the road but she does not know how long the other six took, as "it was cold and I wanted to get home".

Comments on her Facebook post included, "they look so sad waiting on the kerb" and "they don't really have the ability to press the big buttons".

One person said he had seen nine waiting at one pedestrian crossing in Cambridge.

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A spokesperson for Starship Technologies said: "The robots make more than 140,000 road crossings every day around the world, nearly one every three seconds, using a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to safely navigate.

"Most of these crossings are done autonomously, but on the rare occasion assistance is required, the robots can be monitored remotely.

"It's also true that every now and then the robots are not shy in asking a friendly resident for help if they can't quite reach the button, particularly in a new area they've recently started mapping.

"Although in some locations around the world now the robots can automatically 'talk' to the traffic light, eliminating the need to press the button. But they're also very happy to wait in a queue - they are in England, after all."

Ms Davies said it had been so amusing to see the robots queuing that she might swap her "Christmas lights safari" trips to see decorations, for a night out spotting the delivery robots, instead.