When it comes to online ordering and delivery of fresh food and household products, REWE is the innovation and market leader in Germany: in Hamburg, the REWE delivery service has been part of the cityscape for over seven years. There are over 1,700 REWE pick-up services in Germany and the company is also leading the way in technology with innovative services such as REWE Scan&Go and REWE Pick&Go. The first self-driving “shopping baskets” are now being launched in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel and will amaze passers-by in the coming weeks. In cooperation with TÜV Süd, the City of Hamburg and the start-ups “Cartken” and “LastMile”, REWE is trialling the use of up to three autonomous delivery vehicles – initially for three months.
From now on, customers in Eimsbüttel can order their groceries conveniently from home using the “Last Mile” app. The desired goods are put together at the REWE store at Hoheluftchaussee 23-25 and sent on their journey within two hours – controlled by artificial intelligence – with the “delivery bot”. First, the “REWE delivery bot” travels through the streets of Eimsbüttel accompanied by a technical supervisor. Once it arrives at the customer’s front door, they collect their goods directly from the robot by entering a previously received code.
The movement radius of the robot vehicles, which weigh around 35 kilograms and are the size of a beer crate, is 3 kilometres. The vehicles manoeuvre along the pavement at less than six kilometres per hour and deliver selected product ranges home within an hour if required. 360-degree cameras and artificial intelligence ensure that there are no accidents. At the start of the trial, the regular collection range is available, albeit with restrictions: For example, crates of drinks, items relevant to youth protection, frozen products and meat and fresh products requiring refrigeration as well as over-the-counter medicines are excluded for the time being.
The REWE robots have a maximum payload of 14 kilograms. Once the order has been received digitally, it is picked in the REWE store and sent on its way. The “REWE Lieferbot” test project will initially run for around three months. The autonomous robot delivers the ordered groceries Monday to Friday (except public holidays) between 11:00 and 15:00.
