DPD UK, the parcel delivery firm, will be launching autonomous robot deliveries in two Milton Keynes neighbourhoods, as part of a trial with AI-powered robotics and last mile delivery company, Cartken.

Powered by AI technology, the robots are currently ‘learning’ the routes and will then be able to find their way to delivery addresses, fully autonomously.  Cartken’s level 4 autonomy and leading navigation tech is regarded as one of the safest last mile delivery solutions on the market and is currently being used by automotive tech giant Mitsubishi in Japan, and leading food delivery company GrubHub in the United States. 

If the trial is successful, DPD UK intends to extend the sustainable, autonomous final mile solution across the city, which could enable it to start removing traditional delivery vans from the road network. 

Elaine Kerr, DPD UK CEO, comments:

“This is a really important trial for us. We want to understand the role that delivery robots could play in certain locations in the UK.  They are a sustainable solution, and we genuinely want to find out if they could help us take vans off the road in future.  The technology is proven and with the DPD branding, they look fantastic.  The public’s response to our EV fleet has been amazing, so I am confident these smart robots will be embraced by customers as part of the way forward.

“Realistically, we aren’t going to be completely replacing our delivery drivers anytime soon.  And we wouldn’t want to.  The service they provide is fantastic.  But at DPD we’ve always led the way on innovation and investment in our network and this is the next logical step in terms of evolving delivery solutions and working towards our aim of being the UK’s most sustainable delivery company.”