Residents of Milton Keynes have been left bemused by an article published in an American periodical that appears to paint the English new town as a technologically advanced dystopia - thanks to its shopping robots.
Pulitzer-winning New York Magazine sent a writer to the town in the summer to report on the six-wheeled delivery robots regularly seen whizzing along its pavements.
Operated by Starship Technologies, a firm founded by two alumni of internet phone firm Skype, the trundling little robots are used to deliver takeaway food and groceries from Co-op shops and have done so since 2018.
But the way the magazine has reported on Milton Keynes itself - describing it as 'England's strangest town' and a prime spot from which to 'glimpse our robot-filled future' - has left locals equally flummoxed and amused.
'As someone from Milton Keynes this is just so important and funny to me,' says one.
'"Strange" is the kindest adjective to describe Milton Keynes,' said another, while several others commended the fact Milton Keynes was finally, after decades as a punchline, getting recognition on the international stage.
'I go to Milton Keynes a lot to run errands and while I have yet to see these robots, it does have a very weird, boxy, dystopian vibe,' added influencer Laura Larkins.
Writer Stefan-Rhys Williams said on X: 'Very funny to me that New York magazine are writing about Milton Keynes like it's at the vanguard of modernity.'
Residents of Milton Keynes have been left bemused by an article that appeared to hail the new town as a technological utopia thanks to its delivery robots.
The Starship Technologies robots were launched in 2018 and are a regular sight on the city's streets, delivering Co-op groceries and takeaway food.
Milton Keynes locals were left amused by the fact the highly respected American periodical had sent a reporter to the town.
Developed as a new town in 1967 in order to address a national housing shortage, it was billed as a viable alternative to living in London, where people lived in cramped and overcrowded conditions post-war.
The town was built upon Iron Age, Roman and Saxon settlements - with a sprawling road network to link everything up.
There was a huge sense of optimism around the development at the time as it pulled together a number of existing settlements, including Bletchley - home to World War II codebreakers - with a groundbreaking town centre at its core.
Milton Keynes - the 1960s New Town showing how we may live in the future
'You've never seen anything like it - Central Milton Keynes,' sang Ronnie Bond, once of The Troggs, on a single distributed to promote its packed shopping centre.
Of that, there was no doubt: the city was built on an American-style grid of roads, with wide, sweeping tree-lined boulevards and, crucially, 200 miles of 'redways' for people and cyclists alongside its network of single and dual carriageways.
But to Starship, those enclosed residential communities - and the huge network of footpaths - were a perfect training ground for their fleet of delivery robots.
Writing under its Intelligencer heading, New York Magazine's Joanna Kavenna said Milton Keynes seemed an 'odd' choice for an army of grocery-delivering autonomous buggies - until she visited the town itself.
Quoting a friend speaking about the town's early optimism, she writes: 'There's always something odd about utopias, Ole says. They're perfect. And real life is never perfect. So they're always quite unreal'
The Starship delivery robots, she concluded, fitted the vibe of Milton Keynes - all roundabouts and concrete cow sculptures - perfectly.
The author added: 'Milton Keynes is very green with beautiful parks and endless trees. Owing to this dense foliage, you rarely see buildings from the road grid, so it feels as if you are driving through a forest, onward, forever.
'Or as if civilization has already collapsed and nature has reclaimed its territory.'
Social media reaction on Instagram and X (above) varied from bemused to amused - and even pride
Sir Keir Starmer viewed the Starship robots for himself in 2020 when demand shot up in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic
The robots are loaded with an army of sensors to help them detect people, cars and other city infrastructure - even pedestrian crossings
Like other post-war new towns, Milton Keynes became more infamous for its perceived soullessness than famed for its modernity as time went on.
The wide roads and 'hub' layout necessitated driving everywhere; it now has approximately 130 roundabouts.
To some, it has become a byword for blandness - though its population growth has outstripped the national average as it becomes a commuting favourite for London workers. So who is to say?
It is along the 'redways' that the little Starship robots trundle along every single day at the speed of a walking pedestrian.
They are packed with an army of sensors to stop them from running over children and maiming pensioners as they go.
(That does not always go to plan, as a dog walker discovered two years ago when one of the Starship robots rammed his pet.)
Those sensors ensure the robots run with '99 per cent' autonomy, with a human operator stepping in should disaster strike.
Robots can even ask nearby people for help if they get stuck - and set off a loud, shrieking siren if they are attacked or stolen.
No mopeds zipping up and down streets, no threat of anyone stealing your food: just a small, friendly sounding robot that will only open its climate-controlled hatch upon successful delivery at your door. It even says 'thank you' for help - sometimes.
Starship launched in 2018 but came into its own during the coronavirus pandemic, when restrictions precluded people from visiting shops and takeaways as normal.
Milton Keynes was developed throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s as a viable alternative to living in London (pictured in 1979)
The city was borne out of the 'new towns' movement and tied together several villages with an American-style grid system at its centre
The city has some 200 miles of 'redways' exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists that Starship robots use to deliver goods
The robots made contact-free, safe deliveries effortless - and Starship made deliveries free for NHS workers, endearing them to the community.
The company deemed the Milton Keynes trial such a success that it has expanded to Cambourne, a planned development with a similar layout of urban sprawl extending out from a pre-planned town centre.
It is also available in selected areas of Northampton, Trafford, Wakefield and Leeds, and on university campuses across the United States.
Last month, the company's co-founder Ahti Heinla said he wants to expand the company's fleet across Britain as rivals size up entering the marketplace - but needs ministers to set nationwide rules for how it can operate.
At the moment, it has to negotiate with each council in the areas it wants to roll out 0 all while facing down competition from the likes of Amazon, which has been testing drone deliveries.
Mr Heinla told the Guardian: 'We are ready to invest in UK as well to expand larger in UK as well,but we would like this regulatory clarity as well.'
'We have less robots in UK than we have in Finland. But we could have more,we could have much more.'
He has also insisted that the robots are not stealing jobs - but instead supporting businesses by addressing the demand for deliveries from time-squeezed Brits.
'Giving more capabilities to people is useful,' he added.