Meet the tiny robots that can change commercial real estate

How many times a week do you use your lunch break to go to the same sub-par sandwich shop around the corner? But what if the better sandwich shop that’s just too far away from your office brought their food to you immediately, without the need for a third-party delivery driver?

Soon, tiny robots could bring whatever you want, straight to you, on demand.

What’s happening?

According to Futurism, “San Francisco-based Starship Technologies wants to remove any human interaction, at least from the process of buying lunch. The company is expanding its fleet of autonomous robots to include tiny robots that deliver your lunch for you.”

Right now, these Starship Technologies robots are working exclusively within the Intuit corporate campus. But, they’re planning to launch them at more than 1,000 colleges and workplaces by the end of the year, including 20 in Europe.

Beyond just lunch, instant drone delivery of whatever you want has been on everyone’s lips for a while now, particularly in regards to Amazon’s instant delivery. The ability to immediately summon any meal or item with the help of technology would be a major convenience for people everywhere.

What does tech-driven instant delivery mean for CRE?

Ultimately, the latest advancements in technology, from driverless cars to virtual reality and drone delivery, are completely changing the definition of location in real estate.

• Warehouses and other industrial spaces in urban locations will be in higher demand so consumers can get their instant deliveries as fast as possible. For example, we’ve discussed before the potential future of underground invisible warehouses, which can exist within or just outside of cities without affecting the aesthetics of a city’s landscape.
• Retail, including restaurants, will feel the effects of consumers placing little importance on the value of location. In cities, corner stores could cease to exist, and people won’t feel the need to visit restaurants within the closest proximity to their homes or offices. In our resource on technology’s impact on retail, we discuss how retailers and investors in those spaces can take advantage of the latest tech developments to meet consumer expectations and succeed.

Check out our resources page to download our articles and learn more about how new technology like AI, driverless cars and virtual reality will impact CRE in the years to come.