Deliveroo is launching its first-ever fleet of autonomous delivery robots in the UK, bringing hot restaurant takeaways and supermarket grocery orders straight to customers’ doors.

Rolled out via an exclusive partnership with Coco Robotics, the robots will take to the pavements first in London’s Canary Wharf before launching in Milton Keynes, Leeds, Stockton-on-Tees and Nottingham in the coming weeks and months.

While the majority of orders will continue to be fulfilled by Deliveroo’s rider network, Coco’s fully electric robots are suited to short distances and navigating urban environments, offering additional flexibility to local businesses on Deliveroo’s platform to fulfil more orders.

In Canary Wharf, consumers will initially be able to order from the likes of Patty&Bun, independent family-run brands such as bakery Signorelli along with cafe and restaurant Beam. The service area will then expand to include a wider pool of merchants at a later stage, including Ole & Steen, Royal China and Din Tai Fung.

In Milton Keynes, consumers will be able to order from Smoke and Pepper and 5 Akhis, amongst others, when the service debuts.

The multi-city rollout marks Coco’s entry into the UK, extending the company’s broader expansion across Europe. The launch will be backed by local investment in UK operational infrastructure, creating new skilled jobs in operations, maintenance and logistics across each region, supported by new depot and charging facilities.

The initiative has won backing from UK local authorities, welcoming both the technology and the new jobs created by the expansion. Coco is already in talks with additional councils across London and the UK to clear the path for wider deployment.

The launch marks Deliveroo’s first use of self-driving vehicles in the UK, a major milestone for its automation strategy. The move is part of the company’s plan to build a multi-modal ‘last-mile’ network, combining robots with traditional couriers to expand options for both merchants and customers.

Built to travel safely and navigate busy urban environments, Coco’s robots operate at walking pace,  moving safely through busy city streets while carrying orders directly to customers. Each delivery is zero-emission and reduces urban congestion.

Through its partnership with BlindSquare, Coco will also share real-time data on pavement hazards identified by its robots, so that the company can update its app to help alert blind and partially sighted pedestrians to obstacles ahead.

Miki Kuusi, CEO at Deliveroo and head of DoorDash International, said: “We see huge potential in autonomous delivery and we are looking forward to working with Coco to bring more flexibility to our delivery network, helping local restaurants and shops meet increasing consumer demand. We firmly believe that robot and drone technology should benefit High Street businesses of all sizes, helping them remain competitive and meet consumers in new ways.”

Zach Rash, CEO and co-founder of Coco Robotics, added: “As we expand further across the UK, we look forward to giving more businesses another reliable delivery option and more communities access to the kind of infrastructure that makes delivery work better for everyone.”

Coco already operates across the globe with platforms such as DoorDash and Wolt, serving cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami and Helsinki.

Deliveroo, Wolt and DoorDash are also exploring different forms of autonomous vehicles across multiple geographies. The companies have established partnerships with multiple leading aerial drone and ground-based robot operators, and DoorDash has developed its own in-house autonomous delivery robot, Dot, which is operating in Phoenix, Arizona.