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Autonomous vehicles are set to revolutionise every aspect of transport, and one industry that will benefit hugely is the delivery sector. A major challenge is the "last mile" - the distance between kerbside to the customer's front door. However, Ford employees think they have the answer with their Autolivery concept, an amalgamation of self-driving vehicle and drone technology.
Currently being showcased (via virtual reality headsets, of course) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the video (see bottom of article) depicts a person needing ingredients promptly for a dinner party. An electric autonomous van brings the goods most of the way, then a drone takes over to drop the package to a landing pad outside the owner's high-rise apartment.
The advantages of this type of delivery system are huge, and one can foresee all sorts of uses, such as getting medical supplies to hard-to-reach locations. Ford envisages a 'City of Tomorrow', where mobility challenges are overcome and space currently taken up by roads could be turned into green areas, and the Autolivery concept is a key player in bringing that to fruition. The idea was the brainchild of Shanghai-based Ford designers Euishik Bang, James Kuo and Chelsia Lau, in response to Ford's Last Mile Mobility Challenge.
VP of Research and Advanced Engineering Ken Washington commented: "Ford has at its heart a culture of disruption and innovation designed to come up with solutions that put people first to save them time, money and aggravation, and also to make our cities easier to navigate and better to live in. We are challenging ourselves to understand how people live, work and move in urban areas, to inform our research in mobility technologies and solutions."
The American company intends to have a fully autonomous vehicle suitable for commercial applications such as package delivery and ride-sharing ready within the next five years, and expects electric-powered vehicles to outnumber petrol variants by 2032.
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