Two-legged parcel delivery robot trialled in UK in European first

The pilot, being run by Evri in partnership with Japan-based Refined Robotics, began this week. It explores how advanced robotics could work alongside human couriers and give customers even greater choice and convenience when receiving parcels.

Unlike traditional delivery robots, the machine, which stands at 4ft, has been designed to tackle environments that can be difficult for wheeled autonomous technology. It can carry parcels weighing up to 15kg and travel at speeds of up to 4mph, while navigating stairs, uneven surfaces and residential environments.

The robot can operate autonomously or be remotely monitored and is capable of both attended and unattended deliveries. This means residents could see the robot arrive at a property and complete a delivery without a courier necessarily needing to knock on the door.

Nick Hafner is the Founder and CEO of Refined Robotics, which designed the robot, named Iris. He was trialling the machine in residential areas in Barnsley, getting it to make home deliveries of parcels to assess its capabilities.

"A two-legged robot can theoretically do staircases, it can do kerbs, it can get over a tree trunk or a fallen branch," he told GB News.

"We're interested in how this technology can assist drivers to deliver parcels more efficiently or faster. This trial is to evaluate the technical feasibility of this type of robot to do parcel delivery.

The pilot, being run by Evri in partnership with Japan-based Refined Robotics, began this week

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"It's never been done before in Europe and we've done some early trials in Tokyo in the past. For now, we're focusing on what types of terrain it can cover and where it is capable of going. In the longer term, the idea would be that we would connect to an Evri API or other delivery company API.

"The robot would then receive a parcel from, say, a courier, from a van, from a parcel locker, or a distribution hub with an address attached to it, and it will find its way to that address, get to the driveway, squat down, gently drop the package off at the doorstep, and then go back to where it came from to get the next one.

Barnsley has been chosen by courier Evri for this pilot following its status as the UK's first Government-backed Tech Town with the project highlighting the South Yorkshire town's growing reputation as a place where new technology can be tested in everyday settings.

The trial will assess how the technology performs on British streets and around residential properties, as well as how robots could support couriers with some aspects of last-mile delivery. The aim is not to replace couriers, but to explore how robotics could work alongside them as demand for home deliveries continues to grow.

Barnsley has been chosen by courier Evri for this pilot following its status as the UK's first Government-backed Tech Town

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"The robots are there to complement the courier. We're expecting robots and couriers to work together," said Adrian Berry, Innovation Delivery Manager at Evri.

"We struggle to recruit couriers and we're currently advertising for 7,000 new ones. There are some tasks that a robot would be really useful for, such as if a courier wants to go send their robot up one farm track while they deliver to another one, and the robot jumps back in the van and then carries on.

"Evri is a Yorkshire-based company founded in Bradford over 50 years ago and we are the biggest employer in Barnsley, and Barnsley is the UK's tech town so it [the robot pilot] all makes sense."

GB News spoke to people living and working in the area of the Barnsley trial, and they gave their take on the new technology

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With the UK having the third-largest e-commerce market in the world after China and the US, the growth of online shopping continues to place new demands on the way parcels are delivered. Trials such as this will provide an opportunity to understand how emerging technology could help meet those demands while maintaining convenience for consumers.

For customers, the technology could eventually form part of a wider range of ways to receive parcels, alongside existing options such as home delivery, ParcelShops, lockers, safe places and neighbour delivery.

GB News spoke to people living and working in the area of the Barnsley trial, and they gave their take on the new technology.

Alison Merrills was out walking her dogs when she saw the robot go by. She said: "It's here to stay, whether we like it or not. We'll have to just see how it works out and give it a go. I think that's probably the future, isn't it?"

Eddie Portman works near Innovation Way, where the trial was taking place. He said: "If it works and it's more efficient and gets parcels delivered on time and it's good for the environment then, yeah, why not?"

For customers, the technology could eventually form part of a wider range of ways to receive parcels

GB NEWS

Craig Burgess compared it to robots he has seen in Los Angeles and added: "I think it's a great idea. It's going to speed up deliveries and hopefully it'll be a bit more reliable. I don't see any problems with it.

"There's a bunch of all sorts of AI stuff going on around Barnsley at minute, so I don't think it's weird to see a robot with wheels walking down the street anymore.

"I think it'll be taken on pretty well and it's getting a bit like LA, isn't it - last time I went to LA they [robots] were everywhere."

The Barnsley trial will provide insights into how autonomous technology performs not in a laboratory, but in the everyday environments where people actually receive their parcels.

The trial comes shortly after a separate six-wheeled delivery robot pilot in Sheffield came to an end following five months of operation.

Starship Technologies launched its small autonomous robots in Sheffield in March to deliver food for Uber Eats, including in areas such as Meersbrook and Heeley.

Evri also has an existing crop of flagged, four-wheeled units already tasked with rolling deliveries to people's front doors.