Europe has now had its first fleet of autonomous robot carriers operating on public roads following deployment in Lithuania. The landmark motion sees three Autonomous Robot Carriers (ARCs) deliver, collect and drop off orders in a suburb of the country’s capital.
The CLEVON 1 ARCs are currently enabled to deliver orders without a driver, collect goods from a specific IKI store, and drop them off at customers’ homes in the city centre. The ARCs executing deliveries have several different-sized compartments and can complete up to seven different orders on a single run in Vilnius’ New Town and Old Town districts.
CLEVON 1 is a vehicle much shaped like a normal van but measuring just 98 inches long and 61 inches high with a modular design to allow flexibility in terms of deliveries. The automated functionality is facilitated by a camera and radar stack providing 360-degree visibility and obstacle detection. The ARCs will be capped at a maximum speed of 16mph and constantly monitored by remote teleoperators via a 4G connection. From the consumer side, customers schedule the free delivery, receive a text message telling them when the robot arrives with their order, and then use their individual code to unlock the relevant door on the segmented ARC and collect their order.
The vehicles’ rollout is the result of collaboration between Estonian autonomous vehicle manufacturer Clevon, delivery transportation platform LastMile and supermarket chain IKI. Last year, they conducted a trial run in the suburban Vilnius district of Balsiai. It was the first time a delivery robot was used in Lithuania and during three months of the trial it covered more than 1,243 miles. During which, the CLEVON 1 ARC showed it could operate in a variety of conditions and surfaces. A further trial was also carried out in the cobbled Old Town of Estonian capital Tallinn in partnership with DHL, late last year.
Speaking on the rollout, CEO and co-founder of LastMile Tadas Norušaitis, said: “We believe that these robots will give us a significant advantage in the delivery sector, as customers will receive their goods quickly, even in the city centre and during peak hours.”
Autonomous vehicles is a growing industry. Companies faced with increasing demand, labour shortages, and competition to offer quicker services are increasingly looking at alternative ways to innovate.
Google and Amazon are two of the biggest players to venture into the field, with the former aiming to establish a drone delivery-network technology able to handle millions of orders within 12 months and the latter using its Prime Air in some areas of Texas and California since 2022.
A report by MarketsandMarkets estimates the autonomous ‘last mile’ delivery market is projected to reach $4.2 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 22.7%.
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