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Humanless last mile When the postal robot rings three times ...

Source: dpa 2 min Reading Time

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The info comes via text message, the package is here! But it's not a delivery service provider standing at the door, but a robot ...

Something like this could have happened last week at the Technical University of Braunschweig during a demonstration where an autonomous transport robot delivered packages – without any human intervention. Read here what dpa has learned about the action ...(Image: Technical University of Braunschweig)
Something like this could have happened last week at the Technical University of Braunschweig during a demonstration where an autonomous transport robot delivered packages – without any human intervention. Read here what dpa has learned about the action ...
(Image: Technical University of Braunschweig)

A robot delivers the package to the front door! What sounds like a scenario from the distant future has already become a bit of a reality as part of a European research project, as dpa has learned. Scientists from the Technical University (TU) Braunschweig and other institutions tested the use of two interconnected, autonomous vehicles for two years. And at the end of last week, they presented the project in the Lower Saxon city. During a demonstration, it was shown how a large vehicle, serving as a mobile intermediate storage, rolled up on the grounds of the TU, transporting two packages. In the next step, a small delivery robot transported the two shipments about a hundred meters around the corner, where a person received the packages. Thus, the trial delivery was successful without a human courier. According to the information, the large vehicle has a loading volume of up to 9 cubic meters, as much as a medium-sized van. The smaller delivery vehicle can fit up to 30 packages. The stated goal is therefore to accomplish the so-called last mile without human intervention. The robots are to be used especially in cities, where many people receive packages. Regular operation could occur in the medium future – so in five to ten years.

Around three billion packages are seeking their destination

The scientists involved also mention the positive aspect of the robot deployment's good CO2 balance, since, after all, no van with a combustion engine drives up to the recipient's front door anymore. The major problem of shortage of skilled workers could also be significantly alleviated. Indeed, the parcel industry is desperately seeking workers in light of the high number of shipments (around three and a half billion packages per year in Germany alone). Robots could help, should they really become mass-ready for everyday use. The underlying project is called "LogiSmile - Last-mile logistics for autonomous goods delivery." The testing was not only in Braunschweig but also near Barcelona and in Hungary, involving external partners. However, the process in the robot concept is not entirely mechanical, the researchers must admit. In the demonstration in Braunschweig, a human still moves the packages from the mobile intermediate storage to the small delivery robot. But, the transfer wasn't the focus of the project, the experts clarify. The focus of the project was on the collaboration of the two robots, which are monitored and coordinated through a system. And that worked.

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