DPD has become the first UK parcel delivery company to deploy Ottonomy’s multi-compartment, fully autonomous locker robot.
The Ottobot, which has a maximum payload of 70kg, is larger than DPD’s existing autonomous delivery robots.
It has eight separate compartments that carry parcels of different sizes, and can facilitate collections.
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The robot features four-wheel powered swerve drive with independent steering and suspension, while multiple sensors including light detection and ranging lidars and cameras, as well as software, enable the Ottobot to navigate complex environments autonomously.
The first locker robot will be deployed in Milton Keynes, where the company has been operating autonomous robot deliveries since July 2022, using Cartken robots, which have also since been rolled out in Raunds, Bristol, and Lincoln.
The Ottobot will be based at DPD’s Milton Keynes depot in Knowlhill and will navigate the city’s traffic-free Redway network to access nearby residential neighbourhoods.
Once the locker robots have completed the mapping process, they operate fully autonomously.
From that point, customers will receive a message when the robot is outside their property, and will use a pin to open the robot and collect their parcel(s).
Tim Jones, director of marketing, communications & sustainability at DPDgroup UK, said: “This is the next chapter for us in terms of autonomous deliveries after a very successful roll-out across a number of different locations.
“We’ve also learned a lot in terms of how best to deploy the technology and how to maximise the effectiveness of the robots day to day.”
Adding, Ritukar Vijay, founder & CEO, Ottonomy, said: “It is fantastic to see Ottobot deployed in the UK parcel delivery market. DPD is already well ahead of its competitors with its robot fleet and is well placed to maximise the full potential of Ottobot.
“Our autonomous robot technology is designed to help brands meet customers’ ever-changing demands in new ways and provide the scalability to be a truly effective solution.”
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