Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Building Accessibility into Technology | By Ed Lovelock | Starship Technologies | May 2023

As the world’s leading autonomous robotic delivery provider, one of our core missions is to make people’s lives easier and more convenient.

We are passionate believers in the power of technology and innovation to positively impact lives and communities. But we also know that accessibility and the needs of people with disabilities are too often overlooked in technology development.

We are at the forefront of a whole new industry, so we know we won’t get everything right the first time. But at Starship, a true two-way approach to accessibility and accessibility needs is embedded in what we do, and we’re dedicated to building on what we’ve learned along the way.

Over the years, we have invested time and resources in improving our technology with accessibility in mind. For example, Mobility He incorporates autonomous recognition of devices and wheelchairs into robot behavior.

We want the robot to hear sounds as it moves on sidewalks, and that grocery stores are at a height that most wheelchair users can reach (and that items are packed in bags for easy handling). ) is important. We have worked with leading blind charities to ensure guide dogs and our robots happily share their paths. We also incorporate feedback from our guests with disabilities, residents and charities into our engineering and design process to ensure our efforts get better with every trip and every conversation.

But there is still work to be done.

That’s why today, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we proudly launch the Starship Accessibility Advisory Panel.

We welcomed a panel of representatives from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), the University of Leeds, and the health and welfare charity Leonard Cheshire to help bring a living professional experience integral to the conversation across the organization. I am glad to

This is a start, not an end, and we want to ensure that we have experiences, expressions and perspectives from people with different backgrounds, disabilities and abilities. Based on the current members of the panel, we would especially like to hear more direct input from people who use mobility devices, wheelchairs, and/or have varying degrees of nervousness within the surgical area. increase. Please contact [email protected].