5 Autonomous Vehicle Technology Uses in Shipping and Logistics
From lowering freight and logistics costs to improving fuel efficiency and reducing delivery times, autonomous vehicle technology could be a game changer for the shipping industry.
October 23, 2019
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Trucking companies and manufacturers are considering truck platooning for long-haul routes.
Platooning allows two or more digitally connected trucks to closely follow each other in a convoy. Use cases currently being tested have a driver-controlled truck leading a platoon, while drivers in the following trucks monitor system performance. However, the goal is to require a driver only in the first truck while those following are fully automated and driverless. Platooning technology combines adaptive cruise control and forward-collision warning with vehicle-to-vehicle communication through Direct Short-Range Communications.
Platooning offers a number of benefits due to the fact that trucks can follow one another more closely. Platooning trucks can travel just 40 feet apart, versus the recommended following distance for non-platooning trucks of 324 feet. The direct result is increased capacity of the road. Truck positioning also reduces drag, which, along with a consistent traveling speed, increases fuel efficiency. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, platooning can save up to 20% on fuel costs. MIT also found that departures of platooning trucks at regular intervals can increase scheduling efficiency. It also has the potential to increase safety by reducing braking times.
The trucking industry and manufacturers are considering self-driving vehicles for long-haul routes utilizing a transfer hub model. The transfer hub model utilizes shipment yards directly connected to highways that allow autonomous trucks. Short-haul drivers would transport shipments from a warehouse or factory to a transfer hub, where autonomous trucks would then transport the cargo over a highway. Once the shipment reaches the appropriate transport hub, a local short-haul driver would finish the journey.
The transfer hub model offers a number of benefits. Autonomous trucks driving between transfer hubs could operate around the clock, making long-haul routes more efficient. They would also potentially reduce transportation costs. According to Stephan Keese, senior partner with Roland Berger, if the U.S. widely allows autonomous trucks on its highways, as much as 50% of freight could be moved via the transfer hub model. Fewer vehicles would be required, shrinking the overall U.S. truck fleet by as much as 13%. A fleet would reduce its long-haul transportation costs between 20 and 40%. Meanwhile, the transfer hub model would increase the need for short-haul drivers, which some analysts assert is more desireable than long-haul driving.
While the trucking industry is focused on long-haul routes, specific industries are looking to self-driving vehicles to increase productivity, reduce fuel costs, and improve driver safety. That’s certainly the case for the US Postal Service.
The USPS is partnering with the University of Michigan to build a self-driving mail truck dubbed Autonomous Rural Delivery Vehicle. The name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but if the USPS has its way, the vehicle will be rolling on 28,000 rural routes as early as 2025. The semiautonomous truck would still have a mail carrier behind the wheel, but instead of doing the bulk of the driving, the carrier would be able to sort mail and fill mailboxes. Not having to park the vehicle, get out and get back in would add up to significant time savings, according to the USPS. For walking routes, the autonomous vehicle could follow the mail carrier. This would reduce walking time to and from the vehicle as well as the heavy loads the carrier has to carry.
While self-driving trucks would initially be deployed on rural routes where the risk posed by pedestrians and heavy traffic is lower, the USPS has plans to look into city deliveries and build fully driverless vehicles.
The grocery industry is undergoing its own transformation as it begins to embrace autonomous vehicles for urban, last-mile delivery. American grocery store chain Kroger is teaming up with Nuro to deliver groceries to customers’ homes using self-driving cars. The first test cases used Toyota Priuses outfitted with autonomous driving technology and a safety driver behind the wheel. As of December 2018, Nuro had two of its custom-built autonomous vehicles delivering groceries in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Kroger isn’t alone in the race to bring groceries to customers. Walmart has undergone pilot programs with a number of self-driving car companies for grocery delivery. The grocer is also exploring the use of autonomous vehicles for middle-mile delivery. These are the short trips between businesses. Rather than large, long-haul trucks or small, local delivery vehicles, middle mile transport involves light commercial, autonomous vans and trucks.
Meanwhile, San Francisco startup Robomart is partnering with Stop & Shop, another American grocery chain, to bring fresh fruit and vegetables to Boston-area customers. Customers summon the autonomous vehicle via a mobile app. When it arrives, customers choose what they want and are charged via the app.
While delivery vehicles comprise 7-20% of urban traffic, they contribute 20 to 25% of urban congestion. Part of the problem is parking — or lack thereof. Drivers must often park 1 to 2 miles away from the delivery site and walk the rest of the way. This results in a 15 to 20% underutilization of delivery time per driver and reduces the area covered by the delivery vehicle, according to Sarwant Singh, senior partner at Frost & Sullivan.
Mobile delivery hubs could help solve these problems by reducing the need to bring large trucks into busy, congested urban areas. The mobile delivery hubs would serve as access points that sit on the outskirts of an urban area. Drivers would drop off packages at the mobile delivery hub, and a person, drone or self-driving vehicle would take the packages to their final destination.
California startup Boxbot is putting this use case to the test. The company offers a last-mile delivery system that combines an automated local hub with a fleet of street-based vehicles, some of which are self-driving electric vehicles. Boxbot also has a partnership with parcel logistics company OnTrac to test self-driving parcel delivery in California.
While delivery vehicles comprise 7-20% of urban traffic, they contribute 20 to 25% of urban congestion. Part of the problem is parking — or lack thereof. Drivers must often park 1 to 2 miles away from the delivery site and walk the rest of the way. This results in a 15 to 20% underutilization of delivery time per driver and reduces the area covered by the delivery vehicle, according to Sarwant Singh, senior partner at Frost & Sullivan.
Mobile delivery hubs could help solve these problems by reducing the need to bring large trucks into busy, congested urban areas. The mobile delivery hubs would serve as access points that sit on the outskirts of an urban area. Drivers would drop off packages at the mobile delivery hub, and a person, drone or self-driving vehicle would take the packages to their final destination.
California startup Boxbot is putting this use case to the test. The company offers a last-mile delivery system that combines an automated local hub with a fleet of street-based vehicles, some of which are self-driving electric vehicles. Boxbot also has a partnership with parcel logistics company OnTrac to test self-driving parcel delivery in California.
Autonomous trucks and vehicles promise significant benefits for an industry that struggles with a growing labor shortage and the demand for shorter delivery times. The American Trucking Association estimates a shortage of as many as 174,500 drivers by 2024, due to an aging workforce and the difficulty of attracting younger drivers. Meanwhile, the rise of e-commerce and shorter delivery times is driving a need to overcome restrictions on hours driven and capital utilization.
According to McKinsey, 65% of the United States’ consumable goods are trucked to market. With full autonomy, operating costs would decrease by about 45%, saving the U.S. for-hire trucking industry between $85 and $125 billion. In addition to improved operational efficiencies, autonomous trucks and vehicles can help lower freight costs, improve truck utilization, reduce logistics costs, improve fuel efficiency — and, of course, reduce delivery times.
However, the thought of large trucks driving themselves on highways or in busy urban areas give rise to a number of concerns — and reasonably so. While progress is being made toward realizing the benefits of autonomous vehicle technology, manufacturers and technology developers are taking baby steps to ensure the right safety technology is in place and society is ready.
Here are five ways that autonomous vehicles and trucks will be used for shipping and logistics.
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