Autonomous Middle Mile Delivery Truck
Autonomous Middle Mile Delivery Truck for B2B Short-haul Logistics
Overview
Middle mile delivery refers to goods delivery from supplier’s warehouse to retail stores. While not glamorous as last mile delivery with colouful and attractive packaging, the middle mile delivery in the supply chain is just as important. Businesses are seeing this as one of the many methods to slash costs while boosting profits. One of the methods to reduce this is by implementing autonomous driving vehicles to offer safety, reduce operation costs and increase efficiency. Currently, most major retail chain stores have employed such autonomous delivery vehicle technology while some are trying to develop the technology in-house, perhaps to cater to their specific needs to complement and boost their massive middle mile delivery volume.
Problem-solving
Automated material delivery within a controlled environment such as a warehouse is simple and there are many easily deployed assisting devices that can help achieve the feat. Expand that compound area into the size of a map, say anywhere from a 50-kilometer radius to interstate distances of up to thousands of kilometers. And all of a sudden, automated material delivery from A to B doesn’t seem like a simple task anymore. The expanded area means the “moving vehicle” needs a computer that can connect to sensors, Lidars, etc. to deal with everyday on-road traffic such as recognizing traffic lights, negotiating traffic and turns; utilizing 5G/ 4G wireless communication, the location of the vehicle can report-in in real-time for timely delivery management; delivery using reefers may need to be constantly monitored; and throw autonomy in the mix, the project becomes that much more complicated. Not to mention a truck’s operation environment where the heat, shock and vibration can impact the reliability of the computer that controls the autonomy technology.
Safety: Middle mile delivery vehicles travel on pre-planned routes
Driving a 3-ton plus truck is no easy task even for the skilled operator, it takes years of training and experience to drive one. Neousys GPU/ in-vehicle computers can be found in various autonomous vehicle technology developments around the globe. By enabling autonomy into the trucks, we are removing the human fatigued factor and to deliver the goods, the trucks travel on pre-planned routes. Neousys computers can connect to sensors and Lidars onboard to recognize traffic lights, stop or go; detect pedestrians to give way, or in some cases, give full control of the truck back to the driver.
Reduce Operation Cost: Delivery truck management
Vehicle maintenance is a major operation cost when fleet vehicles are involved. The Neousys computer coupled with sensors can pick up slight mechanical deviations (predictive maintenance) so you can tackle the small issues before they become big problems. This can help prevent huge repair bills and dramatically minimizes vehicle operation downtime.
Increase Efficiency: Route optimization, traffic data analysis for 24/7 all-year-round delivery
The more autonomous trucks you have in a fleet, the more autonomy your fleet can operate. By removing human fatigue factors, autonomous trucks can operate 24/7 all year round. What is more important is the data collected each time one of your trucks makes a delivery. The analysis of the specific route, date, time and traffic can help you next time deploy the truck during off-peak hours or an alternate route to shorten your delivery time and avoid stop-and-go traffic.