Swiss Post Starts Robotic Delivery Trials

Switzerland’s national postal service, Swiss Post, is to start robotic delivery trials in several Swiss cities as part of Starship Technologies robotic delivery testing programme.

The partnership between Swiss Post and Starship Technologies will see trials start as early as September, and will also see cooperation with various Swiss Post partners in the food and healthcare industries.

Medicine delivery

The trials will see Starship Technologies’ six-wheeled robot carts move along pavements to deliver post, where parcel deliveries will also be tested.

“The addition of Swiss Post to our testing programme is an exciting development for Starship Technologies,” said Allan Martinson, COO, Starship Technologies.

The partnership with Swiss Post 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. Partners in the US will be announced shortly.

Robots developed by Starship Technologies are designed for delivering packages, groceries and food to consumers within a 5 km radius. The robots can drive mostly autonomously, while being monitored by human operators in control centres.

When placing an order online with a participating company, consumers simply choose Starship Technologies’ robotic delivery. When the order is ready, consumers are notified through their mobile phone.

“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 convenience, 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 started its UK trials in Greenwich, London, over the summer. The company said that it chose the UK for its trials because of the Government’s clear commitment to autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, making the country a world leader in this new and ground-breaking technology.

“Our robots are a totally new class of devices that will provide a combination of low cost and convenience with less congested streets and zero emissions,” said Ahti Heinla, CEO, Starship Technologies.

“The robot has been in development for almost two years, and we’ve experienced unprecedented levels of interest and goodwill – so it’s great to now be taking the first step to rolling our little robot out for real.  The robot has been very well-received by pedestrians in all of the interactions we’ve seen so far, so it’s very exciting to be officially introducing the robot to the British public.”

Take our virtual reality quiz here!