Norwegian postal service to deliver mail using robots

One of Europe’s largest postal services, Posten Norge, is testing the future of the logistics delivery in Oslo with Ottobots, produced by a company called Ottonomy.

Continuing to pave the way for autonomous delivery, Ottonomy announced its collaboration with Posten Norge and Holo for trials for automating first-mile delivery.

This partnership with one of Europe’s largest logistics companies is oriented towards testing how autonomous robots can improve intra logistics, especially in city centers.

Posten Norge will be leveraging Ottobots for first-mile pick-ups, receiving and delivering goods for the digital marketplace AMOI from the busy Aker Brygge metropolitan area in Oslo.

Sven Richard Tønnessen, from Posten Norge’s department of emerging technology, says: “Autonomous robots have previously been tested by other companies with the focus entirely on final delivery to the customer.

“We want to evaluate how robots can become part of Posten’s future logistics solutions. This project, which utilizes both humans and robots, offers many new opportunities for increasing efficiency and productivity for our organization.

“We will continue to utilize our existing pool of human couriers for delivering goods to the customers – while the robot takes care of the intra-logistics part of the supply chain.”

What is the first mile?

The first mile has been a pain point for organizations in metropolitan areas. First mile delivery involves moving products from the manufacturer or retailer’s warehouse to a central holding center. From this location, a carrier, shipping company, or logistics partners picks up the products and takes it to the next leg in the destination.

Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, from Posten Norge, says: “The logistics with delivery vans at Aker Brygge is extremely demanding in terms of parking and time consuming.

“Together with our partners, we want to test the various applications for autonomous technology, which can enable simpler logistics and reduced noise in the cityscape.”

A recipient of the 2021 Sustainability Product of the Year award by Business Intelligent Awards, Ottobot will be used to determine how Posten Norge AS can increase sustainability and efficiency for the logistics supply chain in the future.