Co-op is expanding its autonomous robot delivery service to Wakefield, offering 13,000 local residents quick and convenient access to groceries.
Residents across over 6,500 households can now make orders via the Starship food delivery app, which will be picked from the convenience retailer’s local store on Meadow Vale, Outwood and delivered in minutes.
The battery-powered robots travel at the speed of a pedestrian and use a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to travel around obstacles.
When an order has been placed, customers can watch the robot travel in real-time via an interactive map and can unlock the robot’s lid through the Starship app to retrieve their groceries.
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The roll out to Wakefield follows on from recent launches in areas of Leeds and Greater Manchester, as well as other UK locations including Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, Cambourne and Cambridge.
Co-op ecommerce director Chris Conway 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 robot deliveries to provide additional online flexibility, choice and convenience for our members and customers in Wakefield.”
Wakefield council cabinet member for planning and highways Cllr Matthew Morley added: “We’re excited that this cutting-edge technology is coming to our district and helping our residents who might find it difficult to get out and about with an affordable and convenient way of doing their food shopping.
“The service is also environmentally-friendly – the robots are zero emission; people won’t need to drive to the shops in their cars, and it will help to reduce food waste as people can order a small shop with the exact ingredients they need.”
