Human governor signs robot-delivery rules into law

Associated Press and Herald staff

OLYMPIA — Only on sidewalks and crosswalks, only with human oversight, and always with functioning brakes — those are some of the new rules for personal delivery robots in Washington.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill imposing those rules and others Tuesday, setting out a framework for a new technology that is growing in popularity, after lawmakers wrestled with whether they should be treated as automobiles, pedestrians or something else entirely.

Companies including Amazon have rolled out robot delivery programs. The online retail giant began testing half a dozen cooler-sized, six-wheeled robots in south Snohomish County in January, before lawmakers passed the rules. The company did not specify where, exactly, they were being tested or how long the test would last.

They’re designed to navigate around “pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path,” Amazon said in a news release announcing the test. The company said it developed the sidewalk robots in its Seattle research lab.

The new law also requires identification numbers, liability insurance, accident reporting and lights for night operation. One company, which worked with the bill’s Washington sponsor, said that their devices are typically overseen by humans who monitor several at a time.