Ottobot, the locker on wheels, starts work for DPD

Delivery company DPD are stepping up their autonomous robot delivery game as they become the first company in the UK to deploy Ottonomy’s multi-compartment, fully autonomous ‘Locker’ robot, Ottobot.

The first robot will take to the streets of Milton Keynes, where DPD has been operating autonomous robot deliveries since July 2022.

Ottobot is larger than DPD’s current delivery robots and can carry up to 70kg in eight separate compartments, two of which are a generously-sized 38l.

The robot features four-wheel ‘powered swerve’ drive with independent steering and suspension providing excellent manoeuvrability.

Ottonomy launched the Ottobot Locker at the CES tech show earlier this year along with the Ottobot Brew which, instead of a grocery container is equipped with a cooler and CO2 draft system, enabling it to dispense beer at hospitality events.

From DPD’s Milton Keynes depot in Knowlhill Ottobot will navigate the city’s traffic-free Redway network to access nearby residential neighbourhoods. The additional compartments not only enable the robot to work more efficiently with up to eight separate deliveries each time it leaves the depot but can also accommodate larger parcels in two 38lt compartments.

Parcel recipients will receive an SMS when the robot is outside their property and can then use a secure one-time pin code to open the robot and access their parcel.

The robot battery lasts up to six hours with the ability to keep swapping the battery for a new fully charged one at the depot, to keep the robot on the road.

Tim Jones, Director of Marketing, Communications & Sustainability DPDgroup UK said; ‘We are absolutely delighted to be deploying locker robots in the UK. This is the next chapter for us in terms of autonomous deliveries after a very successful roll-out across a number of different locations. It’s well over 2 years now since we began autonomous robot deliveries and the customer feedback continues to be incredibly positive. We’ve also learned a lot in terms of how best to deploy the technology and how to maximise the effectiveness of the robots day to day.

‘Ottobot potentially gives us a massive uplift in terms of productivity, with the ability to deliver up to eight parcels at a time before the robot needs to return to the depot to be reloaded. As always when we invest in new innovation, we want to learn fast and try new things, so we will be looking at how Ottobot could double-up as an additional, mobile parcel drop-off point for customers.’

Ritukar Vijay, Founder & CEO, Ottonomy added: ‘It is fantastic to see Ottobot deployed in the UK parcel delivery market. DPD is already well ahead of its competitors with its robot fleet and is well placed to maximise the full potential of Ottobot. Our autonomous robot technology is designed to help brands meet customers’ ever-changing demands in new ways and provide the scalability to be a truly effective solution.’