Co-op’s autonomous delivery robots roll-out in Wakefield

Robots are rolled-out in Wakefield on Wednesday (24) with a partnership between Co-op, Starship Technologies and, Wakefield Council bringing the benefits of quick and convenient autonomous grocery deliveries to local residents.

Co-op’s robot home delivery service will initially be available to 13,000 residents across 6,500+ households, with orders made through the Starship food delivery app, which is available for download on iOS and Android. Groceries will be picked fresh from the local Co-op store on Meadow Vale, Outwood, and delivered quickly and conveniently from store to door in minutes.

The launch in Wakefield marks the expansion of autonomous robot deliveries, and follows recent roll-outs in areas of Leeds and Greater Manchester, where Starship’s robots are already a familiar and popular sight in along with several other locations across the UK including: Milton Keynes; Northampton, Bedford; Cambourne and Cambridge.

Chris Conway, Co-op eCommerce Director, said that Co-op stores are well placed in the heart of local communities to provide quick, easy and convenient home deliveries – whether a full shop or last-minute top-ups.

“We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services, and delighted to be able to roll-out autonomous robot deliveries to provide additional online flexibility, choice and convenience for our Members and customers in Wakefield.”

Customers can choose from a wide range of grocery items, schedule their delivery, then drop a pin where they want it to be sent. They can watch the robot travel in real-time via an interactive map, and will receive an alert when it arrives, and can meet and unlock the robot’s lid through the app to retrieve their groceries.

With a delivery fee starting from just 99p, Starship’s robots are battery powered, lightweight and travel at the speed of a pedestrian. They use a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to travel on pavements and navigate around any obstacles, while computer vision-based navigation helps them map their environment to the nearest inch.

Lately, Co-op has expanded its online presence in rapid delivery by joining hands with Starship Technologies, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.