Autonomous food delivery robots are being introduced in Cambourne as part of a pilot organised by Cambridgeshire County Council and food retailer Co-Op.
The project, beginning today [17 May], is part of the council’s wide-ranging environmental agenda, as it aims to help to reduce short car journeys and improve air quality with an average delivery from a robot consuming as little energy as boiling a kettle to make just one cup of tea.
The Cambridgeshire pilot will see residents living in Lower and Upper Cambourne able to order deliveries which are selected fresh locally from the Co-op store on Mosquito Road in Upper Cambourne. A map showing who will be eligible to book deliveries can be viewed on Google.
Cllr Mark Howell, member for Cambourne, Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “I’m delighted people living in my ward will now be able to enjoy the convenience of having small food deliveries dropped off at their front door. This will cut down on the number of small car journeys and save time.”
Cambourne residents will be able to choose from a range of grocery items, schedule their delivery, then drop a pin where they want their delivery to be sent. They can watch in real-time via an interactive map as the fully electric robot makes its journey to them. Once the advanced autonomous robot arrives they receive an alert and can meet and unlock it through the app.
The robots are lightweight and travel at the speed of a pedestrian (no faster than 4mph). Using a combination of sensors, AI and machine learning the robots are designed to travel on pavements and navigate around any obstacles, while computer vision-based navigation helps the platform map the environment to the nearest inch.
Chris Conway, Co-op e-commerce director, added: “Co-op is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to its products and services. Our members and customers lead busy lives and ease, speed and convenience is at the heart of our approach.
“Co-op stores across the country are well placed to serve shoppers locally and a key part of our strategy is to further develop our e-commerce offer by using our store footprint to provide same-day, rapid, home deliveries. As a convenience retailer, the ability to come into stores will always be important to customers, but we also know that shoppers want flexible options online, and so we are focused on providing what our customers want and need, however and wherever they choose to shop with us.”
If the project is successful, autonomous delivery services provider Starship Technologies has signalled its intention to expand further across the county and use more suppliers, which in turn will lead to new jobs being created.
