[SINGAPORE] Courier and logistics giant FedEx has partnered homegrown startup QuikBot Technologies to deploy autonomous delivery robots to commercial areas in Singapore and address challenges that plague deliveries in urban areas.

The tie-up is part of FedEx’s efforts to improve last-mile delivery in the city state by integrating autonomation into deliveries to streamline courier operations and cut down on time, said the company on Friday (Jul 11).

It does so by eliminating wait times at lift lobbies and security checkpoints, to allow couriers to move on quickly to their next destination and prioritise time-sensitive deliveries, said FedEx.

Alan Ng, founder and chief executive officer of QuikBot Technologies pointed out challenges faced by last-mile deliveries: “Last-mile logistics is one of the most expensive and inefficient segments in the supply chain, plagued by labour shortages, rising emissions, and mounting delivery demands.”

Eric Tan, managing director of FedEx Singapore, also noted that delivering in dense urban environments such as Singapore can call for the use of technology.

By improving operational efficiency, QuikBot’s technology addresses the challenges that plague deliveries in such dense urban areas, said Ng.

Under the collaboration, FedEx couriers drop-off parcels at QuikBot’s forward fulfillment depots at selected buildings clusters, where QuikBot staff verify and load the parcels into secured QuikBoxes which are then transported to their destinations by the robots.

Guided by artificial intelligence agents, the QuikBot robots are capable of navigating lifts an...