Since launching its self-driving research programme in June 2021 Ford Motor Company has been working with businesses to understand how autonomous vehicles could benefit their operations, particularly courier services and doorstep deliveries. Ford is also using its pilot programmes to identify new opportunities and models for autonomous vehicle operations and understand how existing processes and human interactions can work alongside automated vehicles.
A commercial vehicle driver’s responsibilities sometimes extend beyond simply driving from one destination to another. In a delivery or logistics operation, for example, the driver may also be tasked with sorting and loading goods, manually handing packages over to recipients – or reloading them onto the van if delivery is not possible. However, in this research, the driver will play an entirely passive role, simply driving the vehicle. Pedestrian couriers who support the delivery van are equipped with a smartphone app that lets them hail the vehicle and remotely unlock the load door after it is safely parked at the roadside. Once inside, voice prompts and digital screens direct the courier to their locker, containing the parcels to be delivered. Understanding and designing how humans will interact with the vehicle will ensure that business processes are able to continue safely without a driver present.
Delivery specialist Hermes was the first customer to operate a Ford Transit research vehicle as part of its ‘last mile delivery’ pilot programme to make city deliveries more efficient and sustainable. A two-week research project with Hermes was built on Ford’s ‘last mile’ delivery trials in London in which a team of pedestrian couriers collects parcels from a delivery van and fulfils the last leg of the delivery by foot resulting in fast, sustainable and efficient deliveries in cities. The research will enable Hermes and other businesses to begin designing how their teams could work alongside driverless vehicles; the company has developed an app that enables the pedestrian couriers to access the van to collect parcels, a role that the human driver would normally fulfil.
Lynsey Aston, head of product, innovation and onboarding, Hermes, said: “We’re excited to collaborate with Ford on this proof of concept trial, which is all about understanding the potential for autonomous vehicles and if they have a role in delivery in the longer-term future. We’re constantly innovating to incubate and then explore concepts like this, and we look forward to the initial findings, which will no doubt be useful on an industry-wide level.”
Ford’s latest collaboration with DP World London Gateway demonstrates how autonomous delivery could benefit large worksites such as ports. DP World London Gateway, one of the UK’s fastest growing ports, is located 40 km east of central London and already embraces automated technology as an intrinsic part of its operations as a deep-sea container port.
For the trial, Ford used a specially adapted Transit fitted out to mimic the look of an actual self-driving vehicle with a driver concealed within a ‘Human Car Seat’. Employees at the company’s reception building loaded packages into secure lockers in the rear of the Transit. Then, at set delivery times, the Transit travelled to the main reception 3.5 km away so that colleagues there could retrieve them. In the normal way, staff currently retrieve packages from reception themselves. While time consuming, these trips do not warrant a full-time driver.
Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World, commented: “Having what appeared to be a self-driving vehicle on site created a real buzz. Everyone wanted to use it. Popping in the car to pick up a package from elsewhere on site might not seem like it takes that long, but across multiple journeys over weeks, months and years, this can add up to a lot of time and money.”
Every step of the process was monitored by researchers who also conducted interviews with those who took part, before, during and after the trial. They found that employees quickly became comfortable with using the specially equipped van. Some proactively trained colleagues to access their packages, while others were resourceful in overcoming difficulties intentionally introduced by the researchers: such as the wrong parcels being stowed in the wrong lockers.
Richard Balch, director, autonomous vehicles and mobility, Ford of Europe, said: “It was incredible to see how enthusiastically the team at DP World embraced working with the support of a self-driving vehicle. We are continuing to work very closely with our customers to learn how these vehicles can benefit their businesses and it is exciting to see first-hand the impact this can have across a diverse range of locations. What worked so well at DP World premises could equally be of benefit at universities, airports and manufacturing facilities.”
Ford has been testing self-driving technology in major cities across the U.S. in partnership with Argo AI. The company plans to invest around $7 billion (€6.02 billion) in autonomous vehicles during 10 years through to 2025 – $5 billion (€4.3 billion) of that from 2021 forward – as part of its mobility initiatives.