Co-op and Starship Technologies extended robot delivery partnership
The Co-op has again expanded its robot delivery service in Northampton, with the revolutionary scheme now available to 80,000 households in the town.
It was announced that an additional 20,000 households in the area are now able to access the service and receive convenient, on-demand grocery delivery via robots.
A further five Co-op stores across the town are now offering same-day delivery through a fleet of Starship robots, bringing the total number of households across Northampton able to access Starship’s service in the area to over 80,000.
Orders are made through the Starship food delivery app, with groceries picked fresh in local Co-op stores – which act as micro-distribution hubs in the community – and delivered in as little as one hour or less.
The service first launched in Northampton in November 2020.
Starship’s robots are powered by zero carbon electricity.
Starship Technologies operates around the world. Its zero-emission robots make more than 100,000 road crossings every day and have completed more than three million commercial deliveries globally, more than any other autonomous delivery provider. The robots use a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning to travel on pavements and navigate around any obstacles, while computer vision-based navigation helps them map their environment to the nearest inch.
Chris Conway, Co-op’s Head of eCommerce, said: “Co-op is committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services. Our members and our customers lead busy lives and ease, speed and convenience is at the heart of our approach.”
Cllr Phil Larratt, West Northamptonshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, Highways, Transport and Waste, said: “We’re delighted that the Starship robots have been rolled out to thousands more homes in Northampton, offering our residents a convenient, carbon-free way to get their groceries. Harnessing the latest technology and innovative schemes like this will play an increasingly important role as we look at ways of cutting emissions and making West Northants a more sustainable place to live for the future.”
Andrew Curtis, UK Operations Manager at Starship Technologies, added: “Local residents in Northampton have embraced the benefits of contactless delivery over the last 18+ months and we are very happy to be able to offer our service to even more communities across the town from today. The environmental benefits of autonomous delivery are clear, and it has also been very encouraging to see how much the robots have been welcomed and integrated as part of the local community in Northampton.”
