Parcel delivery by driverless vehicles

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1 Parcel delivery by driverless vehicles DPD Germany and Aachen-based automobile experts present ideas and scenarios for 'autonomous parcel delivery' Driverless vehicles are set to make a fundamental change to the transport business and it won't be long before this happens. The automobile industry expects that at least semi-autonomous systems will be an obligatory component of new models by the year All the more reason why DPD Germany as a leading parcel service should take a careful look at the effects which this technology may have on the parcel business in the medium and long term. At the present day parcel services already apply a high level of automation, but so far this is restricted for the most part to sorting operations. And although the actual delivery of parcels over the so-called 'last mile' is standardised to a significant degree, the human factor continues to play a decisive role. Conventional delivery vehicles are loaded manually and are driven by the delivery personnel to the consignee destinations. The driver carries the parcels to the front door and hands them personally to the consignee. At the same time, however, the framework conditions for these delivery operations are changing. Examples of these changes are increasingly large parcel volumes resulting from the continuous growth in internet retailing, together with the changing requirements of consumers resulting from increasing urbanisation. A further challenge is the constant rise in traffic density in urban locations, while parcel consignees are looking for increasingly flexible, faster and more individual delivery. In cooperation with the fka (Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbh Aachen) and ika (RWTH Aachen University's Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge) organisations, DPD has therefore drawn up and analysed scenarios relating to the possible application of automated, driverless vehicle concepts, together with the time from which such concepts could become relevant in specific ways to parcel services. The conclusion: as so-called 'convenient technology' driverless vehicles will soon be able to play an important role in last mile operations in support of delivery personnel. In inner-city locations in particular (semi-) automated systems will make the work of delivery staff significantly easier. In addition, over the last mile new delivery concepts with a high level of automation are entirely possible in the long term. This will probably make sense at least for a certain category of parcels. On the other hand, it can't be expected that a robot driver will soon be ringing the doorbell. In future, too, the human delivery driver will continue to play a prominent part.

2 On behalf of DPD the fka experts have analysed how driverless vehicles could be of specific use to parcel services. The relevant time scale ranges from applications which are already technically available at the present day, to entirely autonomous solutions for which the appropriate preconditions will still need to be created. 1. Driverless transport to the delivery area Every delivery tour begins with the drive from the depot to the delivery area, with the driver returning to base after the parcels have been delivered. The outward and return trip can often take the driver up to an hour, during which he is unable to carry out his actual tasks. At the same time the outward trip in the morning, with its stop and go in rush-hour traffic, requires a great deal of concentration and physical effort. In this area autonomous and semi-autonomous solutions offer potential for relieving the driver of a great deal of work in this respect. Up to a speed of 60 km/h semiautonomous systems such as congestion and follow assistance can take over the control of the vehicle. If required the driver can of course assume control of the vehicle again, but otherwise he can concentrate on other tasks such as the preparation and optimisation of the delivery route. At present these operations still have to be carried out before the driver leaves the depot, which means that there is therefore a gain in productive time. Even more potential is offered by a convoy of driverless vehicles (so-called 'platooning'), in which a number of vehicles without a driver follow a manned lead vehicle. Under favourable conditions for example on major roads or motorways - a car with a driver can guide a convoy of automated vehicles to a common destination. In this way they can travel to a meeting point close to the city, for example, where the individual delivery personnel come on board and carry out their tour in the conventional

3 way. This relieves the drivers in terms of time, giving them a longer period to carry out their core task of delivering parcels. A further possibility for the long term is for driverless vehicles to travel to individual meeting points, where they pick up delivery personnel whose tasks are then for the most part restricted to making personal deliveries to consignees. Time scale: the semi-autonomous systems described above are already featured in premium-class cars, while platooning will soon be available in technical terms at least, although its implementation will still have to wait until the applicable legal framework is in place. 2. Autonomous parking in the city In the inner city, in particular, finding a suitable location to park the vehicle can be more time-consuming than the actual delivery of the parcel, and automatic parking assistance could therefore make the delivery process more efficient. In this scenario the driver already has the next parcels to be delivered ready on the passenger seat. As soon as he reaches the delivery address he activates the automatic parking assistant, takes the parcels and leaves the vehicle. This vehicle, which can cover short distances without a driver, now looks for a parking space in the immediate vicinity and waits there. As soon as the driver has delivered the parcels he finds the vehicle via GPS positioning and the display on his portable scanner. According to fka such autonomous parking can generate time savings of up to 40 minutes per day.

4 Time scale: for garage parking this technology will be in series production from 2016, and is therefore in principle available. Autonomous driving over short distances followed by driverless parking is expected by the year The autonomous helper in the pedestrian precinct During their everyday delivery operations DPD drivers are faced with major challenges, in particular in pedestrian areas and other streets which are closed to vehicles. Often there are legally prescribed access times which have to be complied with by parcel services, for example in the early hours of the morning. For this reason deliveries are currently often implemented on foot outside of these delivery times, with many parcel couriers using transport equipment such as the sack truck. However, this principle could be made significantly more efficient by further developments such as autonomous mini transporters, which could also provide greater flexibility in planning the route. In this scenario such a vehicle has three or four wheels and can follow the driver at walking pace. Because it does without a seat for the driver this mini transporter can carry 15 to 20 parcels, in spite of its compact dimensions. After the drive from the depot to the pedestrian precinct with a conventional delivery vehicle, the driver loads the locally available mini transporter. Delivery operations can begin immediately, with the vehicle travelling ahead to the next consignee address while the driver delivers the parcels. In the meantime the large conventional delivery vehicle is parked outside of the pedestrian precinct. The re-loading of the mini transport vehicle can be made especially efficient if the conventional delivery vehicle can autonomously access the pedestrian precinct from different sides, so that it is

5 ready and waiting to transfer the next load. This will reduce to a minimum the distances and time involved in re-loading operations. The mini transporter needs to be stationed in a fixed location within the pedestrian precinct, for example in the storage facility of a cooperating customer. Time scale: the technology for the autonomous mini transporter is already available, but it requires an operator to supervise the vehicle. In the event of obstacles the deliveryman can actively intervene, but at the moment the legal preconditions for this scenario are not yet in place. 4. The delivery vehicle as a mobile pickup station More and more customers are looking for parcel deliveries which are as flexible as possible, and at peripheral times such as late in the evening, too. This confronts parcel services with major challenges, to which this scenario provides a possible solution. In this case driverless vehicles are fitted with lockers, in which parcels are stored. The vehicle can then make its own way to the delivery location. There it identifies the parcel to be delivered on the basis of GPS data, and moves it to a delivery hatch on the side of the vehicle. In the meantime the consignee has been informed via the DPD app about the arrival of the delivery vehicle, and can then activate the removal of the parcel via a keypad on the vehicle, or by means of a link to the app on the smartphone. Compared to personal delivery at the front door this mobile pickup station has the advantage of enabling consignees to decide for themselves whether they wish to take delivery of the parcels even very late in the evening, for example. This makes it possible to respond even more flexibly to the individual requirements of customers. Compared with fixed pickup stations, such a vehicle offers a much more flexible solution, with a significantly greater and more scalable range.

6 Because the number of return parcels is increasing continuously, this vehicle should also be able to accept parcels. For this purpose customers simply scan their parcel, enter the destination address digitally, and insert the parcel into the service hatch of the vehicle. Time scale: the technology for the sorting system described above is already available. In trial operations driverless vehicles are a possibility from the year 2018 onwards, but series operations within the appropriate legal framework are not expected until after Full flexibility with driverless courier vehicles In combination with small courier vehicles, driverless operations open up the possibility of providing consignees with full control over their parcel deliveries. Although this also applies to classical parcel shipping, it is particularly relevant to same-day deliveries. Consignees will be able to use an app for the remote control of a delivery vehicle which drives around the same area several hours a day delivering parcels, with the consignee receiving a push message as soon as the vehicle arrives. Without a driver the vehicle doesn't require any seating and a vehicle with the compact dimensions of a car, for example, therefore has the space to accommodate the parcels for an entire delivery area. In addition the vehicle has a sorting mechanism, which can deliver parcels to the feed-out flap as required. To release the flap consignees receive a code on their mobile phone as a text message. They can use this to open the flap on the side of the vehicle in order to remove the parcel. This form of highly flexible, autonomous delivery is especially suited to high-cost product groups or as a premium service at extra cost, because it only enables the bundling of shipments to a limited extent. Maximum convenience here

7 also involves a loss of efficiency, with the result that it would not make sense to apply it for all shipments. With this type of vehicle the transport of bulky goods would also be more difficult. Time scale: the technology for the sorting system described above is already available. In trial operations driverless vehicles are a possibility from the year 2018 onwards, but series operations within the appropriate legal framework are not expected until after About DPD DPD Germany is part of DPDgroup, the second-largest international parcel delivery network in Europe. Throughout Germany DPD has 76 depots and 6,000 Pickup parcelshops. A workforce of 8,000 and 9,000 delivery drivers are in daily operation on behalf of the company s customers. Every year the No. 2 on the German parcels market ships around 350 million parcels providing carbon-neutral transport operations at no additional cost to the customer. Through innovative technology, local knowledge and dedicated customer care, DPD provides the best possible experience for both shippers and shoppers. DPD s industry-leading Predict service is setting a new standard for keeping customers closely in touch with their delivery, with real time tracking of their delivery, a one-hour delivery window and a range of options for redirecting parcels. In recognition of this innovation DPD received the Digital Transformation Award As part of DPDgroup, DPD Germany has access to 27,000 local Pickup points across Europe, and delivers to 230 countries worldwide. DPDgroup s 30,000 people work together to deliver 3.6 million parcels each day. DPD s sole shareholder GeoPost, a wholly-owned La Poste subsidiary, posted sales of 5.7 billion in the year Press contact DPD Dynamic Parcel Distribution GmbH & Co. KG Peter Rey PR Officer Wailandtstraße Aschaffenburg Phone +49 (0)