Niche applications for autonomous vehicles

Issue #110, Sept 19, 2021

Autonomous vehicles are not only for unmanned taxis to be used in urban areas. As the technology and the ecosystem around it become mature with each passing day, niche applications are proved for their usage. Walmart has been piloting autonomous last mile delivery of its orders in collaboration with Ford. Toyota tried its autonomous vehicle in the Olympics games village for the athletes. Aging, rural communities specifically in remote areas are a segment identified in Japan. Yard trucks are becoming autonomous. Below are some recent updates from the autonomous vehicle industry.

Walmart's automated last mile delivery

Walmart is expanding its self-driving vehicle program to include Ford Motor and Argo AI, an autonomous car start-up backed by the automaker. The companies said that the collaboration will use Ford Escape hybrids with Argo AI technology for Walmart deliveries in Miami, the District of Columbia and Austin, Texas. The program will allow Walmart customers to place orders of groceries and other items online for door-to-door autonomous delivery. - CNBC

Autonomous driving for remote communities

Japan's transportation ministry plans to lay the groundwork for Level 4 autonomous driving and introduce stricter safety requirements for the vehicles, paving the way for buses and other public transportation that can operate without human drivers in aging, rural communities. Unmanned public transportation can become a potential lifeline for remote communities in Japan. - Nikkei Asia

Toyota's auto vehicles for Olympic games village

Toyota's e-Palette pod, a fully autonomous electric vehicle, was adapted specifically for use during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, with large doors and electric ramps to allow groups of athletes to board quickly. It is resuming operations of the vehicles at the Paralympic Games village in Tokyo following an accident. Mr Toyoda said the accident illustrated just how difficult it was to operate self-driving vehicles in the special circumstances of the village during the Paralympics, with people there who are visually impaired or have other disabilities. "It shows that autonomous vehicles are not yet realistic for normal roads," he added. - BBC

Autonomous trucks for the yards

Automated and electric vehicles are finding uses in agricultural and industrial spaces, where they can don’t have to encounter passengers or pedestrians. Yard trucks are the vehicles that tow semi-trailers from dock to dock and parking spot to spot at warehouses and shipping yards. Robotic yard trucks are taking up the dangerous, dirty job they do. - Bloomberg

From the roads to outer space

Automakers see satellites as a way to exchange vast quantities of information with self-driving vehicles. Although most new cars come with a modem and receive data via cellphone towers, coverage can be spotty: a no-no for self-driving vehicles. “Only 10% to 15% of the air surface is covered by cellular networks,” says Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Analytics and a space industry consultant. “As you move down the road toward autonomous vehicles and the need to constantly update information and have real location accuracy, satellites become a credible technology.” - Bloomberg

Munich robotaxi in 2022

Not long ago, there were broad claims that we were in a robocar winter — that the technology was still a decade away, if not more, and car OEMs were all pulling back. Most of them did pull back, but the companies dedicated to Robotaxi, like Waymo, Cruise, Zoox, MobilEye, AutoX, Baidu, WeRide, Motional, Argo, Aurora and others, as well as the trucking firms, barely noticed any winter. At the IAA Mobility conference in Munich Intel announced a plan for a robotaxi service in Munich in 2022.?- Forbes