By Wasana Nadeeshani Sellahewa
(Commonwealth) _ Most human delivery services are subsidized by the shop by a pound or two. According to Harris-Burland, a robot delivery is less expensive than hiring a person. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, robot delivery can reduce expenses by 80% to 90%. There is also a reduction in the retailer’s carbon footprint. Last year, analysis by Starship and Milton Keynes Council discovered that in the three and a half years it had been in operation, 280,000 automobile journeys had been saved, amounting to more than 500,000 kilometres. This, they claim, avoided 137 tons of CO2 and 22kg of NOx. Furthermore, the amount of hazardous airborne microparticles, measured in units of
However, delivery robots are not ideal for all locations, according to Tim Jones, head of marketing, communications, and sustainability at DPDgroup UK. DPD is now testing delivery robots from California-based Cartken on the traffic-free Redway network in Milton Keynes to access the residential areas of Shenley Church End and Shenley Lodge.
“We picked Milton Keynes in part because of its Redway network. We’re being honest. There will not be a large number of delivery robots on every street in the UK. “However, there are lots of settings where they may function extremely well, such as on campus,” he argues. “The key is to reconsider the delivery strategy and infrastructure. We’re searching for alternatives to the typical distribution terminal on the outskirts of town.
Starship also has a thriving presence outside of Milton Keynes, having recently expanded its agreement with the Co-op to include Wellingborough, Higham Ferrers, and Rushden in Northamptonshire. And the robots have begun delivering in Northampton and the Cambridgeshire town of Cambourne.
“Northampton’s layout is conventional, with narrow pavements, city roads, some challenging traffic crossings, and blind corners,” adds Harris-Burland. The robots, of course, have limits. “Heavy traffic and a large number of people can limit the average speed of the robot, reducing the quality and speed of service to clients,” Perry observes. “As these robots advance, we anticipate that more of the United Kingdom will become accessible and appropriate.”
Starship has achieved success in testing on London’s Southwark and London Bridge. The robots performed admirably, but slightly more slowly than elsewhere due to the additional barriers to overcome. However, Starship discovered that pedestrian footfall one street back from the main road is roughly ten times lower. Meanwhile, the software on the robots is being updated “nearly daily” as the machines learn from their experiences.
However, there are additional reasons why robot delivery may not become the norm in metropolitan settings, according to Harris-Burland. “There might not be as much demand right now in downtown London, which has an extremely high density of on-demand services, as there would be in the suburbs, where alternative on-demand deliveries is not accessible,” he adds. “We see robots in places like London, but we can make a larger effect – and save more money – outside of these high-density metropolitan centers right now.”
Manufacturers and merchants alike agree that delivery robots have a mainstream future as part of a delivery portfolio. Autonomous vehicles are expected to be extensively employed as soon as technology and law allow, and firms such as DPD are investigating the use of drones for delivery. “On-demand delivery is multimodal. “The size of the product being transported should match the vehicle or robot delivering them,” Harris-Burland says. Depending on the situation, the most efficient and low-cost strategy should be adopted. That might mean we live in a world of autonomous electric vans, autonomous electric vehicles, scooters, people, drones, and robots in the future. There is no reason why this cannot be the case.
