Starship Technologies, the creators of a self-driving delivery robot, has partnered with Mercedes-Benz vans to develop ‘Robovan’. It is reported to be the first transportation system integrating specially-adapted vans with autonomous delivery robots to allow efficient delivery of goods in Stuttgart, Germany.
According to Starship Technologies, the semi-autonomous transportation system will see Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans act as ‘motherships’, hosting eight delivery robots. The vans will drive to designated locations, based on delivery density and demand. They will then deploy the robots to enable them to make the delivery. The robots will then return to the van.
The robots will be loaded with goods in the ‘Robovan’ using a racking system that enables 400 packages to be delivered every nine hour shift. Starship Technologies has created a potential solution to reduce cost in the last 2-3 miles with its robots. Combining the robots with vans helps to bring goods to more local area as the vans can cover greater distances.
The convergence of both systems creates an efficient, cost effective and convenient local delivery method.
