Robots are making sidewalks in Braintree more accessible StreetScan started as a research project at Northeastern University and became a private company partly owned by the university in 2015, according to Chief Growth Officer Jon-Erik Dillon. He said the company has assessed sidewalks and roads in numerous Massachusetts communities, including Beverly, Brockton, Chelsea, Concord, Everett, Kingston, Newton, Revere, Sharon and Winthrop.