Starship Technologies lays claim to industry first autonomy delivery services milestone
Starship Technologies reports that its delivery robots have passed the 10 million km mark (over six million miles) in terms of distance travelled around the world.
It claims that this is further than any other company in the industry, and more than six times that of the one million mile mark recently announced by self-driving car developers, Waymo and Cruise.
To hit this milestone, Starship’s 2,000+ strong fleet of robots have made more than four million autonomous deliveries globally, also an industry leading figure, and completed 140,000 road crossings around the world every day.
While they have been operating at the L4 level of autonomous driving since 2018, the company also reports that one of its robots recently completed a company record 24 deliveries in 16 hours 100% autonomously without any human intervention or oversight.
Ahti Heinla, Co-Founder and CTO of Starship Technologies, comments: “When we started developing delivery robots in 2014 many thought it was the distant future. However, fast forward to today and our robots are now an integral part of daily life for millions of people around the world.”
“These milestones are recognition of the progress we continue to make as the market leader for autonomous delivery, and we remain as committed as ever to making the last mile of delivery more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly.”
Co-op
Starship Technologies recently partnered with Trafford Council and the Co-op to bring autonomous grocery deliveries to residents across Sale in Greater Manchester.
Also operating in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, Cambourne, Cambridge and Leeds, orders are made through the Starship app with groceries picked in local Co-op stores and delivered to customers on-demand.
Chris Conway, eCommerce Director, Co-op, said: “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 robots to provide additional online flexibility and choice in Greater Manchester.”
Andrew Curtis, UK Operations Manager at Starship Technologies, said: “We are very pleased to offer the benefits of autonomous delivery to thousands of residents in Greater Manchester from today and continue our expansion in the north of England.”
“The robots provide ease and convenience for people, while also making a positive contribution to reducing congestion and carbon emissions. We are confident that the service will be well received and look forward to a long-standing relationship with Trafford Council to hopefully roll the service out further in the months ahead.”
The service in Greater Manchester will initially be available to 24,000 residents across 10,500 households.
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, then unlock the robot’s lid through the app to retrieve their groceries.
Delivery fees start from 99p.
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