Finns design a robot that is treated like an animal – now sold around the world

You can already order groceries to your home by robotic delivery almost everywhere in Finland. The popularity is enhanced by the cute design, which makes the human help the robot.

When a tumbling robot in Lauttasaari’s Vattuniemi gets stuck in the mud at the corner of the street, a passer-by rushes to help. He nudges the innocent-looking car on wheels into motion, and it politely acknowledges \”thank you\” in a soft female voice.

– New technology can sometimes be scary for people. When designing the robot, we aimed for a look that would be as socially acceptable as possible.

Mäkelä has designed the Starship robot from the beginning and implemented its design and service design. He is one of the partners of the design office Aivan Oy, founded in 2007. Aivan has designed many different vehicles such as boats and work machines, but also smaller products such as household items.

Vieno smile, pennant and other features

The design of the food delivery robot began ten years ago.

Its design is inspired by the design of vehicles, as people often see familiar facial expressions on the fronts of cars.

– Some cars look angry, some cute. We didn’t want to make a clear face or a smiley face for the robot, but take inspiration from, for example, cars, says designer Antti Mäkelä from Aivan Oy

However, there is one smile on the robot’s face. It arises from the design and colors of the lower part, and makes the robot look happy.

According to Mäkelä, it has been essential in the design of the robot that the 12 cameras located in the front part have been hidden. In terms of the experience of kindness and innocence, it is important that people do not feel that they are being snooped on.

In the final stages of the design, a flag similar to a bicycle pennant was added to the robot, as it creates an image of a young person moving on the road. The flag also has a practical function: when the robot crosses the road, the flag appears above the hood of the car.

– The robot is perceived as even more gentle when the flag is waving, says Mäkelä.

Most of the robots designed by Aivan are in the world, in the United States, Britain and Europe. In 2024, robots had transported more than seven million orders in more than a hundred different transport areas.

The designer is pleasantly surprised by the international reception. In the United States, robots have evolved into mascots, with whom group photos are taken. Pictures of a robot birthday cake and robot Halloween costumes are being shared on social media.

Transportation robots have been particularly popular in the campus areas of universities and companies.

– It is not self-evident that the robot has been accepted as part of the community. It could have become a hated road support, Mäkelä reflects.

However, not everyone has been enthusiastic about transport robots.

Pieksämäki’s Kontiopuisto Sale’s food robots only had time to roam the city streets for a couple of months, when vandalism started targeting them. Robots have been kicked, whipped and spat on.

The food robots of the Pohjois Savo cooperative have also been the target of vandalism in Kuopio’s Puijonlaakso. Robots have been sat on and their flags have been cut off.

The reason for the popularity is the top design

The Starship robot is one of the world’s first commercial friendly robots. The robot was put into use for the first time in 2017, after which, for example, the transport services of Amazon and Uber have launched their own, very similar robots intended for transport.

Finnish design has had a significant impact on the fact that the majority of people have accepted the robot with joy.

– However, the best thing is the reception it gets. I just recently witnessed a cyclist pass a robot stuck in a snowdrift, jump off the bike and go back to help the robot. There is something very special about people’s attitude towards these robots, says Juva.

The design agency Aivan has been very successful in the design industry, which otherwise suffered from the economic recession.

There has been a clear break in the steady growth of the design industry, which has been seen in both service and design industry companies in 2022–2023, according to a study published in December by the design industry expert organization Ornamo.

The pandemic and Russia’s attack on Ukraine have affected employment in the industry and the turnover of design agencies, brands and design companies.

– Design agencies are not immune to the economic situation. However, it has often been found that investing in design brings growth. The robot is a good example of what Finnish top design is all about, says Juva.