First wireless charging station in Europe for Starship’s grocery delivery robots is set up in Cambourne

Cambourne is hosting Europe’s first wireless charging station for Starship Technologies’ grocery delivery robots.

Thanks to a collaboration with Cambourne Town Council, the station at the Hub means the robots can recharge autonomously between deliveries, reducing the need to move them via van.

The robot service was launched in Cambourne in May 2022, offering a convenient service delivering groceries from the Co-op in Mosquito Road in Upper Cambourne.

Now a familiar sight around the town, where they trundle along paths, cross roads and avoid obstacles, the robots are helping reduce car journeys and provide a particularly useful solution for residents with mobility challenges, with orders made via an app.

A wireless charging station was introduced by Starship on the George Mason University campus in the US more than six months ago, but the Cambourne site is the first installation of its kind in Europe.

It means the company can reduce emissions in Cambourne as the robots will no longer need to be transported by courier van between service areas.

Energy-efficient wireless charging will allow the robots to charge up overnight, while they are ‘sleeping’ on site, which Starship says will also lower the cost of providing autonomous delivery services in the longer term.

Danny Pass, director of European field operations at Starship Technologies, said: “People in Cambourne have told us how much they love Starship’s robot delivery service, and now we’re making it even more environmentally friendly by rolling out the first ever autonomous wireless charging stations in Europe. Cambourne is leading the way!

“When they’re low on energy, the little guys will take themselves to charge, then get back to work when they’re re-energised. We’re really proud to have worked with the town council to bring new innovation and technology into the community.”

John Vickery, Cambourne town clerk, added: “For nearly two years now, Starship’s robots have been embraced and widely welcomed as part of the local community. So we are very proud that Cambourne has been chosen as the location for the first European installation of wireless charging facilities for the robots.”

Chris Conway, the Co-op’s ecommerce director, said: “We are facing a climate and environmental crisis, and Co-op is committed to cutting carbon emissions from its own operations and, supply chain. We know that the autonomous, quick and convenient delivery of groceries can reduce the number of short car journeys locally, and are pleased to see the introduction of wireless charging designed to further improve the energy efficiency of robot deliveries.”

Starship has a global fleet of more than 2,000 robots, operating 99 per cent autonomously and completing 150,000 crossings daily.

The average delivery takes the same amount of energy to boil a kettle for one cup of tea.

The company raised a further $90m (more than £71m) in its latest funding round last month, which will help it expand. It currently delivers to more than 80 communities and university campuses around the world, including in Leeds, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Trafford and Wakefield.

The company has, however, paused deliveries from the Perne Road and Cherry Hinton Co-ops in Cambridge, since the start of March, with no announcement yet of any plans to resume them.

More than six million autonomous deliveries have been completed worldwide by the robots since commercial service was launched in 2018.

Travelling no faster than 4mph, they use a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning to navigate, with computer vision-based navigation helping them map their environment to the nearest inch.