Switzerland is the latest country to welcome Starship Technologies’ delivery robots onto it streets. Testing of the bots for ‘hyper-local deliveries’ will begin in September thanks to Swiss Post signing up to the programme.
Starship Technologies, the company behind the local delivery robot, has announced that Swiss Post will start using Starship Technologies’ delivery robots on the pavements of three Swiss cities in cooperation with various partners in the food and healthcare companies. The chosen locations are the capital, Bern, and the towns of Biberist in the canton of Soloturn and Köniz in the canton of Bern.
The partnership follows the launch of commercial tests in the UK and Germany last month, with partners Just Eat, Pronto, Hermes and Metro Group, offering robotic delivery for the food, grocery and parcel industries. Next up will be the US, Starship Technologies has said.
Swiss Post aims to “test potential uses within its delivery portfolio”, starting in September, with the aim of rolling the solution out to other areas of its business if successful. Swiss Post says it is looking at robotic delivery as “a potential additional service which could in future be used selectively to complement parcel delivery”.
Allan Martinson, COO, Starship Technologies said: “Not only do we extend robotic delivery to Switzerland, but for the first time anywhere in the world, patients will be able to get medicines delivered to their homes using our on-demand robots. The convenient, and quick nature of robotic delivery will prove invaluable to people in need, who may not be physically able to travel to the pharmacy.”
Starship Technologies is building a fleet of autonomous robots designed to deliver goods locally in 15-30 minutes within a 2-3-mile radius. Launched by two Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, Starship Technologies’ aim is to “fundamentally reshape how goods are shipped and delivered, and make local delivery almost free”.
Robots are out there
- Starship Technologies’ delivery robots have now covered over 10,000 km around the world in 12 countries and 42 cities, coming into contact with over 1 million people on their travels without incident.
- Robots developed by Starship Technologies are designed for delivering packages, groceries and food to consumers within a 5 km radius.
- Weighing around 30kg when loaded
- The robots can drive 99% autonomously, while being monitored by human operators in control centres.
How customers use the service
When placing an order online with a participating company, consumers can choose Starship Technologies’ robotic delivery.
When the order is ready, consumers are notified through their mobile phone. The power is then in the hands of the consumer, as they can call the robot to their house at a time convenient to them, at any time of the day.
