Norwegian postal service Posten Norge is automating first-kilometre logistics delivery with Californian robotics firm Ottonomy.

Ottonomy is collaborating with Posten Norge and Nordics autonomous vehicle firm Holo for trials for automating first-kilometre 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 centres. Posten Norge will be leveraging Ottobots for first-kilometre pick-ups, receiving and delivering goods for the digital marketplace AMOI from the busy Aker Brygge metropolitan area in Oslo.

“Autonomous robots have previously been tested by other companies with the focus entirely on final delivery to the customer,” said Sven Richard Tønnessen from Posten’s department of emerging technology. “We want to evaluate how robots can become part of Posten’s future logistics. This project, which utilises both humans and robots, offers many new opportunities for increasing efficiency and productivity for our organisation. We will continue to utilise 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.”

The first kilometre has been a pain point for organisations in metropolitan areas. First-kilometre delivery involves moving products from the manufacturer or retailer’s warehouse to a central holding centre. From this location, a carrier, shipping company or logistics partners pick up the products and take it to the next leg in the destination.

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

Founded in Santa Monica, California, Ottonomy has introduced an indoor and outdoor and friendly service robot.

Holo is an implementer, integrator and operator of autonomous vehicles in the Nordics. It has been operating autonomous vehicles on the streets and in the skies across the Nordics since 2018.