DPD has confirmed plans to expand autonomous robot deliveries to 10 UK towns and cities in the next 12 months, following a successful trial in Milton Keynes, starting with Raunds in Northamptonshire. 

The announcement extends DPD's relationship with AI-powered robotics and last mile delivery specialists, Cartken and follows work by DPD that identified up to 30 UK depot locations which could potentially deploy robots.

DPD first introduced the Cartken robots in Milton Keynes in July 2022 and they have since travelled almost 500 miles and successfully performed over 2,500 trips delivering parcels to DPD customers.

Based at DPD's depot at Warth Park on the western edge of Raunds, the robots will deliver to nearby residential areas within a mile of the depot, via the existing network of footpaths. In Raunds, the robots will have three separate parcel compartments, instead of just one in the original trial, and an extended battery life of up to 12 hours.

DPD parcel recipients in Raunds will be notified of a robot delivery in advance, and once they confirm that they are at home to accept the parcel, the robot will be dispatched.

Tim Jones, Director of Marketing, Communications & Sustainability DPDgroup UK commented: "Our aim is to be the UK's most sustainable delivery company and that means investing in innovations and trying new things. We are well on our way to decarbonising our van fleet with EVs and we are also making a big step forward by switching our HGVs to renewable biofuel, but we are also interested in brand new solutions that can help us transition to a smarter, more sustainable future."