Hermes UK has announced that it will start testing deliveries by robots in London in cooperation with start-up firm Starship Technologies.
This follows trials in three selected districts of Hamburg (Ottensen, Volksdorf and Grindel), in Germany, that started last August with three Starship robots.
In this latest project, Hermes will soon trial “a number” of parcel collections in the London borough of Southwark.
The company said that it will use the testing period in the UK to better understand how the robots could “enhance the company’s ability” to provide a wider range of on-demand solutions in the future.
The delivery per robot can be made within 30 minutes with the customer determining the delivery time, either for items being returned to retailers, or for items being sent by small businesses or consumers via myHermes. At a later stage, the robots could offer Hermes greater scheduling and tracking capabilities.
The electrically-powered Startship robots, driving at a walking speed of about 6km/h on pavements, offer a “viable” alternative to drones, especially in highly developed cities, towns and suburbs where strict aviation laws are in constant operation.
Traffic lights and crosswalks are recognised by the system via cameras and sensors. It also detects obstacles in a fully automatic way which leads to an immediate stop of the vehicle.
Each vehicle has six wheels, is 55cm high by 70cm long and incorporates a secured compartment where parcels with a maximum weight of 10kg can be transported. Once the vehicle has reached its destination, the recipients get a notification to receive the parcel at the doorstep. They can unlock the cargo via a link generated by a smartphone app.
The robots can be used within a 2 mile radius from a control centre, where the vehicles are loaded and charged. The aim is for the robots to be 99% autonomous in the future but they are always connected to human operators, via the internet and GPS, to ensure safety.
The operator monitors the route of the robot on the footpath and can intervene any time in emergency cases, if necessary. In the future, one operator can monitor several robots at the same time and can also take control of the robots if required.
Carole Woodhead, CEO of Hermes UK, said: “Starship Technologies is a highly innovative and pioneering firm. We are extremely pleased to utilise their expertise to explore exciting new ways that will further strengthen our portfolio of services and offer greater choice and convenience for customers. We can already see first-hand the success they’ve had with food deliveries in London, and we are excited to team up with them in a bid to revolutionise the home delivery marketplace.”
Hermes was the first European parcel delivery company to test out deliveries by Starship robots. Apart from Hermes, Starship Technologies has partnerships in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Estonia with Postmates, DoorDash, Just Eat, Hermes Parcel Delivery, Swiss Post and Wolt, among others.
Last month, the company announced the launch of pizza deliveries in Germany and the Netherlands in co-operation with Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (Domino’s). Starship robots now deliver pizzas within a 1 mile radius around Domino’s stores in selected German and Dutch cities.
Starship recently announced $17.2 million (€16.5 mil.) in seed funding, led by Mercedes-Benz Vans. The funding accelerates the development of pilot programmes in Europe and the US.
