Co-op is adding more delivery robots which will be taking to the streets in a pilot in a new village in Cambridgeshire, under which 12,000 residents of 5,000 homes in Cambourne will be able to receive goods by robots.
The pilot project, launched today (17) has been organised by Cambridgeshire County Council with Starship Technologies, the world’s leading provider of autonomous delivery services, in partnership with the Co-op.
The project is part of the council’s environmental policy to try to reduce short car journeys and improve air quality.
The firm behind the robots said in an average delivery journey they used energy equivalent to that needed for a kettle to boil a cup of water.
The small autonomous vehicles can travel up to 4mph and navigate around obstacles and across roads, using a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Residents in Lower or Upper Cambourne, where there are Co-op stores, will be able to order fresh food for robot delivery by using the Starship food delivery app, which is available for download on iOS and Android.
The robots are tracked, meaning their progress can be watched in real-time via the interactive map. When they arrive at their destination, they send an alert so that they can be met and unlocked through the app by the purchaser.
During their trips, the cargo bay is mechanically locked.
Cllr Alex Beckett (Lib Dem, Queen Edith’s), chair of the council’s highways and transport committee, said: “The partnership between the council and Starship is tremendously exciting and has the potential to make life easier for thousands of residents while also reducing congestion. Hopefully the trial will be a success, which would allow us to extend the benefits of quick and easy deliveries to more people across the county.”
Starship is already in operation in local neighbourhoods in Milton Keynes and Northampton.
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