Everyone that has shipped to or from Greece probably has a story about packages either taking forever to arrive, or not arriving at all.
But in another sign that Greece is serious about going digital, the Hellenic Post has introduced a fleet of yellow robots to help sort the mail.
According to a report by Reuters, “fifty-five small, four-wheeled autonomous mobile robots — or AMR’s — powered by artificial intelligence, glide around Hellenic Post’s sorting center in Athens, speeding up an often arduous process.”
The robots, which are part of the Hellenic Post’s digital restructuring program, will scan the postal code, weigh the package and, directed by sensors, empty it into the corresponding mail sacks set up around a platform.
They are part of the Hellenic Post’s plan which aims to tackle growing numbers of packages from online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Until recently, sorting has been carried out by manual labor with a high demand in time, often with errors occurring, causing delivery delays for our customers and increased costs for the company,” Hellenic Post Chief Executive George Constantopoulos told Reuters.
The robots, which can handle up to 168,000 packages a day, will take on up to 80% of sorting duties, which Constantopoulos claims is up to three times faster, ensuring next-day delivery.
“The purpose is not to replace human workers with robots, but rather to augment human workforces and make them more efficient,” Constantopoulos said.
Watch a video report
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