Six-wheeled delivery robot is talk of village

Luna is expected to stay in Witham St Hughs for the foreseeable future

A little six-wheeled robot has become a local celebrity, after starting work as a parcel courier in a Lincolnshire village.

The delivery robot, named Luna, began daily rounds in Witham St Hughs near Lincoln three weeks ago as part of a trial by the company DPD, which has a depot in the village.

People living there said they were astonished to see Luna crossing roads and avoiding pedestrians, all without the help of a human operator.

“Everyone loves it, it’s all over the Facebook page,” said one local woman. “The kids all go up to the gate at the school to watch whenever it goes past.”

Another man said: “I saw it the other day and I thought I was in a dream. It came past me and I stood there waiting for the postman to come and nobody came."

The robot has been trained to find its own way around the village, picking the shortest route to its destination. Sensors detect when it’s safe to cross busy roads.

One resident added: “It avoids me and my dog when it passes by.

“It’s absolutely brilliant and I think it’s really funny.”

Once Luna arrives at her destination, a text message alerts the customer that Luna is outside. After the customer enters a four digit PIN number to access their parcel, Luna returns to base to collect the next package for delivery.

Operations manager Daniel McCarthy says Luna is currently making "20 deliveries a day"

Operations manager Daniel McCarthy said the depot is the fourth in the country to receive an autonomous delivery robot, and that Luna is expected to stay in Witham St Hughs for the foreseeable future.

“Luna is currently making 20 deliveries a day, and there are plans to increase that to 30 a day.

“She works a 12-hour shift without the need for a lunch break, but she still has a long way to go before she can match her human colleagues, who average around 120 deliveries a day.”

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