Trial of food delivery robots could be extended to parts of Cambridge, Northstowe and Longstanton following success in Cambourne

Food delivery robots could soon be seen on the streets of Cambridge, and potentially in Northstowe and Longstanton, following a successful pilot in Cambourne.

Cambridgeshire county councillors are expected to give a green light to expanding the trial with Starship Technologies, which allows customers to order groceries from the Co-op for delivery by autonomous robots.

The company is carrying out feasibility work to see if Cherry Hinton, Romsey and Queen Edith’s are suitable for their robots, taking into account narrow streets and pavement parking.

Starship is also considering a further expansion to Longstanton and Northstowe.

It follows an ongoing trial launched by the council with Starship on May 17. More than 12,000 residents in Cambourne are able to order a range of items for delivery within an hour by the robots, which move along pavements, cross roads and avoid obstacles using computer vision, sensors and machine learning. They are able to map their environment to the nearest inch.

As of September, nearly 12,000 deliveries have been carried out in Cambourne and 5,735 people have downloaded the Starship app.

The council said the feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive”. A Starship customer survey following the first month of operation with 97.2 per cent of people responding positively to the service and 98.4 per cent saying they would recommend it to their friends.

The council’s own survey between August 1 and September 12 showed nearly 95 per cent of respondents were supportive or very supportive of the trial, with around four-fifths of those taking part having used the robots and widespread support for further expansion.

The council cites environmental benefits to the robots, as they reduce the need for short car journeys. The lightweight robots, which travel at up to 4mph, are powered by zero carbon electricity and, on a typical delivery, consume as little energy as boiling a kettle to make one cup of tea.

In the first month of the Cambourne trial, the vehicles drove 7,798 miles, which equates to an estimated 1,670kg reduction in CO2 emissions if those journeys had been made by car.

The council’s highways and transport committee will vote on extending the trial on October 4.

Chairman Cllr Alex Beckett (Lib Dem, Queen Edith’s) said: “Surveys and engagement on social media have shown the service is immensely popular and is delivering tangible benefits including a reduction in short car journeys, which is good for the environment.

“It is encouraging Starship wishes to expand the trial which would bring these benefits to thousands more residents in the county. To see if this is viable in South East Cambridge they will be carrying out tests in the coming weeks, so if you see the tiny robots on the ground you will know why.”

Starship was created by the co-founders of the communications system Skype in 2014 and operates commercially in six countries. Prior to launching in Cambourne, it had offered its service in Milton Keynes and Northampton.

In Cambourne, residents ordering through the Starship app have their deliveries fulfilled by robots housed at the Co-op in Mosquito Road, Upper Cambourne.

They can schedule their delivery, watch the robot’s progress in real-time via an interactive map and receive an alert when it arrives so they can meet it and unlock it through the app.

Goods from ice cream to pizza can be ordered, as well as alcohol - delivered once an age verification process is completed via the app.