Marathon Robotics, a Sydney-based company with a focus on ground autonomy, has partnered with Australia Post to conduct trials in robotic sidewalk delivery. 

The last mile of a delivery is often the least efficient and most expensive part of the supply chain of goods. The e-commerce market is expanding rapidly and consumer appetite for on-demand delivery keeps increasing. Besides packages, consumers are getting used to ordering food and groceries directly to their doorstep. Robotic sidewalk delivery addresses a portion of the last-mile delivery problem.

Marathon and Australia Post conducted a trial of after-hour on-demand delivery of packages in New Farm, Brisbane, in late 2017. Consumers were able to sign up for their packages to be delivered between 6 p.m. and midnight, if they had missed the delivery during the day. Over 100 packages were successfully delivered during the one-month trial.

To conduct the trial, Marathon built a semi-autonomous robot based on its field-proven robotic technology. The robot was able to build a map of the entire suburb of New Farm including all sidewalks, planning paths from the post office to the consumer’s door, and autonomously navigating and avoiding fixed obstacles and pedestrians on the way. Consumers were notified via SMS of the approaching delivery and were able to unlock the compartment by sending a reply.