{"id":99760,"date":"2024-01-13T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&p=99760"},"modified":"2024-04-24T17:55:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T21:55:34","slug":"last-mile-delivery","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/transportation\/last-mile-delivery","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous tech is taking over last-mile delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is an installment of Future Explored, a weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Thursday morning by\u00a0<\/em>subscribing here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On-demand delivery services exploded in popularity<\/a> during the pandemic, as consumers decided they would prefer to order their groceries, takeout, and other goods via apps and have them dropped at their doorsteps, rather than venturing outside or facing closed outlet stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic may be over, but demand for fast home delivery has continued to rise, and this is causing sellers to rethink how they approach the \u201clast mile\u201d of a delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last-mile delivery often contribute to road congestion, noise pollution, and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Today, last-mile delivery typically involves whatever you ordered being loaded into a car or truck, driven to your home, and placed on your porch by a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because this approach is beholden to roads, any problems on them \u2014 traffic, construction, accidents, etc. \u2014 can delay when your order arrives, and enough angry customers leaving angry reviews online can cause a business to go under. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivery cars and trucks also contribute<\/em> to road congestion and noise pollution, as well as air pollution and carbon emissions (if the vehicle is gas-powered, which it likely is). The need to pay drivers can also mean large fees for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep costs down, while ensuring orders arrive quickly and have as little negative impact on the environment as possible, some retailers and restaurants are now exploring the use of autonomous sidewalk robots, aerial drones, and even underground tunnels for last-mile delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sidewalk robots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Starship Technologies<\/figcaption>
One of Starship’s robots making a delivery.\n<\/div><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The idea:<\/strong> Instead of loading small orders into cars for last-mile deliveries, we can place them inside autonomous robots. These bots can then carry the goods to a customer for unloading before picking up their next order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivery robots are typically battery-powered and designed to operate on sidewalks, meaning they don\u2019t contribute to emissions or road traffic. While some require a remote operator or supervisor, others are autonomous, which could lower delivery fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest: <\/strong>After years of small pilot tests, we\u2019re finally starting to see delivery robots roll out in larger numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, San Francisco-based Starship Technologies<\/a> grew its fleet of zero-emission delivery robots<\/a> to more than 2,000 \u2014 its bots have now completed more than 5 million deliveries worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our goal is actually to take 5% of food deliveries off the road in the next five years.”<\/p>Ali Kashani<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, autonomous delivery startup Serve Robotics, which currently operates a fleet of 100 delivery bots, inked a deal<\/a> with Uber Eats in May 2023 to deploy 2,000 of its robots in multiple US markets over the next few years. Those bots can carry loads of up to 50 pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is actually to take 5% of food deliveries off the road in the next five years,\u201d co-founder and CEO Ali Kashani told Freethink<\/a> in 2022. \u201cThat would be about 100,000 vehicles just in the US.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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