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Robo-Co-op delivery trial revealed

The Co-op is using Starship Technologies’ self-driving robots to deliver orders to customers in Milton Keynes.

The Co-op is using Starship Technologies’ self-driving robots to deliver orders to customers in Milton Keynes.

The trial has been active for the past four weeks from its Monkston store, with 200 products available to order through the robot manufacturer’s app, with a £1 delivery charge added on top.

The six little robots involved in the trial cover a three-mile area around the store. Once an order is placed, Starship Technologies’ staff pick the order, pay at the till, pack the robot and send the robot on its way.

A source at the Co-op told Retail Express that the Monkston Park store had been chosen because it was a ‘friendly area’. The source was told by Starship Technologies that robots deployed elsewhere had been turned on their back and kicked.

Tesco and Just Eat have previously trialled the robots – manufactured by Starship Technologies –but have not announced plans to roll out the six wheeled techno critters nationwide.

The news follows other announced ongoing techie trials in Co-op stores elsewhere. The group is operating an in-aisle checkout system similiar to Amazon Go in Seattle in its Manchester HQ store, with plans to roll out to other stores over the summer.

Read more: We flew shopkeepers over to Seattle to review Amazon's convenience store. Click here to see what they learnt

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