Delivery robot: last-mile autonomous delivery robots compared

01What is a delivery robot?

An outdoor delivery robot is an autonomous electric vehicle that carries goods over the last mile: from a store, a kitchen, a warehouse or a hub to the recipient. It drives itself with cameras, lidar or radar, follows a mapped route and opens its compartment for the right person at arrival.

The catalogue covers two very different worlds. On one side, compact robots the size of a suitcase that move at walking pace or slightly faster: the Starship delivery robot weighs 25 kg and runs at 6 km/h. On the other, autonomous delivery vans: the White Rhino R24 carries 2,400 kg in 24 m³ at up to 60 km/h.

Indoor delivery robots for hotels, restaurants and hospitals are a different family: they ride lifts and corridors, not curbs and car parks. The guide choosing a delivery robot covers indoor models; this page covers outdoor ones.

02Sidewalk robot, site robot or road vehicle

Compact robots carry one order at a time. The Starship robot rolls on six wheels with a bogie that climbs curbs, and keeps the goods in an insulated, lockable compartment. Coco 2 reaches 21 km/h, climbs 30 % grades and turns 360° in place. ROBOT.COM R Kiwi has a 19 L compartment, six HD cameras and a 3D lidar.

Site robots move heavier loads inside a defined perimeter. Ottonomy Ottobot 2.0 is 132 cm tall, carries 120 kg and has four-wheel drive with a crab mode. CLEVON 1 takes interchangeable top modules: CargoBox, parcel locker, MultiBox, truck bed or flat bed.

Autonomous delivery vehicles replace a van on fixed rounds. All of them are announced at SAE Level 4. The Neolix X6 takes 800 to 1,000 parcels per trip, the Zelos Z5 Pro carries 1,800 kg.

03Use cases: campuses, private sites, last mile

The most mature use cases are on private or controlled ground, where the operator decides the routes and the speed. Six situations come up in most projects:

• Universities and business campuses: meals, coffee and parcels between a central kitchen or mailroom and buildings. A compact robot such as Starship (18 h runtime) or R Kiwi (10 to 12 h) covers a full day of service.
• Factories and industrial estates: spare parts, tools and samples between warehouse, workshops and labs. A site robot like Ottobot 2.0 (120 kg) or a vehicle like the Zelos Z5 Lite (500 kg, 6.5 m³) avoids tying up a driver for short internal trips.
• Hospitals and care campuses: samples, medicines, linen and meals between buildings. The lockable compartment and identification at delivery matter more than speed here.
• Residences, holiday parks and gated communities: groceries and parcels from a reception or a locker to each home. CLEVON 1, with its parcel locker module, serves several recipients on one round.
• Urban last mile from a hub: autonomous vehicles shuttle between a depot and relay points. The Neolix X3 carries 400 to 500 parcels per trip; the White Rhino RX 1,200 kg in 6 m³.
• Food delivery from restaurants and dark kitchens: Coco 2 holds four 18-inch pizzas and has a swappable battery to stay in service between peaks.

Start where the route is short, repeated and on ground you control. A pilot on a campus or a factory site shows actual delivery times, the share of trips that need remote help and the reaction of staff and visitors before any extension.

04Comparison of 12 outdoor delivery robots

A dash means the manufacturer does not publish the figure. Range in kilometres and runtime in hours are not comparable: compact robots publish hours of service, vehicles publish kilometres per charge. The Zelos Z5 exists with an 18.4 kWh or a 28.3 kWh battery; the Zelos Z5 Pro with 29 or 40.8 kWh. The Zelos Z5 Lite (500 kg, 6.5 m³, 13.3 kWh) announces 130 km empty. The White Rhino R5 recharges in 1.5 h on DC, the RX and the R24 in 1 h.

05How to choose a delivery robot

1. Ground and route: pedestrian paths, private roads, open roads, slopes, curbs, gates. Coco 2 climbs 30 % grades; Starship has a bogie for curbs.
2. What you deliver: one meal, a crate of parts or a full round of parcels. That decides the class, from 19 L (R Kiwi) to 24 m³ (White Rhino R24).
3. Speed against the environment: 6 km/h is walking pace, among pedestrians; 45 to 60 km/h only makes sense on roads or large closed sites.
4. Range and charging: hours of service for robots, kilometres for vehicles. Check charging time (CLEVON 1: 20 to 80 % in about 45 minutes) and wireless charging (Starship on site, R Kiwi as an option).
5. Weather and protection rating: rain, snow, heat and dust. In the catalogue only the Neolix X3 publishes a rating, IP55; ask the manufacturer for the others before a winter pilot.
6. Sensors and supervision: lidar, cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors. Ask how remote supervision works when the robot is stuck, and who handles it.
7. Compartment and handover: insulated, lockable, modular, identification of the recipient by code or app.
8. Operation and support: fleet software, integration with your ordering or WMS system, spare parts and maintenance in Europe.

Then run a pilot on a real route. A few weeks on your site tell you more about the delivery rate, the interventions needed and acceptance by the public than any datasheet.

06Regulations, safety and personal data: points to check

Rules for autonomous robots and vehicles on public roads differ from one European country to another and are still evolving. In France, as in several neighbouring countries, driving on public roads or sidewalks without a driver remains largely a matter of experiments and specific authorisations. Check the situation with the competent authorities before planning any route outside a private site.

• Public roads and sidewalks: which status applies to the robot or vehicle, which authorisation is needed, which local authority to involve.
• Private sites: internal traffic plan, speed limits, separation from forklifts and pedestrians, site rules.
• Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: it replaces Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and applies from 20 January 2027 to machinery placed on the market from that date. See our Machinery Regulation 2027 guide.
• Insurance: civil liability for the robot in operation, damage to goods carried, theft.
• GDPR: delivery robots film their surroundings. Check what is recorded, how long, where the images are stored and how people are informed.

This section lists points to check. It is not legal advice: the company that operates the robot is responsible for its compliance and for the authorisations required.

07Delivery robot prices: buy, rent or RaaS

Outdoor delivery robots are priced on quote. The price depends on the class (compact robot, site robot or vehicle), the battery option, the compartment or top module, the fleet software, the number of units and the support level. For an autonomous vehicle, the battery version alone changes the range: 180 or 260 km on the Zelos Z5.

The robot is only part of the budget. Plan the site mapping, charging points, connectivity, remote supervision, integration with your ordering system, insurance and staff training.

Robot Distribution supplies outdoor delivery robots across Europe:

• Purchase, with a written quote per configuration.
• Rental, to run a pilot on your site before investing.
• Monthly RaaS over 36 months, on quote.
• Visit to the Tourcoing showroom, in northern France, to discuss your project.
• European after-sales service and spare parts.
• Sourcing on request of brands and models that are not in the catalogue.

See rental and RaaS, book a visit to the showroom or request a quote.