Solving the issue of Last Mile delivery continue to keep people busy. Us too...
Crude mock-up of what an Autonomous Delivery Vehicle might look like.
Our own thinking on this would be to create an autonomous robot Parcel Locker-Book Bus hybrid which spread packages through a network. Each of these robots would have its own small district where it would circulate.
One robot would connect to at least 3 other robots via a combined charging and package transfer location. At these stations the robots could exchange packages to ensure a smooth transition to the final destination.
Possible routes for Autonomous Delivery Vehicle
Needless to say, there is an app or an interface notifying you when the ADV is nearing your home, place of work or physical location allowing you to step outside and collect your parcel.
If you change your mind and want delivery to your place of work the ADV will go to the nearest station to transfer your package to anther route, which in turn will transfer the package again until it has reached the ADV route at your workplace.
At peak when people return from home the machine could be parked at a tube station for an hour or two to continue its route once it has fulfilled a number of orders or when there are no other recipients expected at the tube station.
** Jan 30, 2018 Update...
Saw this concept presented by McKinsey Germany at The Delivery Conference in London, UK on January 30th, 2018. Are we on the right track? Who's graphic is the best?
Author's own image from The Delivery Conference. Presentation by Ludwig Hausmann, Partner, McKinsey.
The Delivery Conference is an annual conference organised by MetaPack.
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