In a residential street in Stevenage, a small wheeled machine the size of a large cooler glides along the pavement at walking pace. It carries groceries or a parcel, pausing at kerbs before politely asking a passer-by to press the button at a pedestrian crossing. This scene, long familiar in a handful of British towns, is coming to Hertfordshire.
Proposals for the trial were laid out at a meeting of the county council's highways cabinet panel. The robots, developed by Starship Technologies, stand roughly 70 centimetres tall. They can manage the equivalent of two shopping bags and move at speeds of up to 4mph. As reported by the BBC, the details emerged on or around 15 July 2026.
Operation will be confined to a geo-fenced zone. The machines rely on cameras, sensors and GPS. When they need to cross a road they will not simply roll out; instead they request human assistance at controlled crossings. Starship Technologies is paying for the entire trial, which is due to begin in late summer 2026. The council has kept the ability to pause or end it at any moment should safety, accessibility or compliance issues surface.
Councillors from all parties welcomed the move. Their cross-party support suggests a shared recognition that practical tests, rather than blanket opposition, offer the clearest path forward. Similar robots already run in Milton Keynes, Northampton, parts of Cambridgeshire, Leeds and Bedfordshire. Each deployment has quietly tested the same questions now facing Stevenage: can these devices reduce the number of short car trips, ease pressure on local deliveries, and open up independent access for mobility-impaired residents and their carers?
Measuring real-world impact
The trial will examine safety and operational performance first. Yet its scope stretches further. Planners want data on public perception, transport and environmental gains, and the difference the robots might make to everyday life for those who struggle with conventional shopping or who rely on overburdened care networks. In an era when delivery vans clog narrow streets and many households weigh the environmental cost of every short drive, an alternative that travels at foot speed on the pavement presents a modest but tangible shift.