Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with a drone
startup to create a concept car that could serve
as a launch pad (and landing pad) for small
package drone deliveries.
While many questions still remain regarding
the practicality and legality of drone delivery,
the Vision Van by Mercedes and its drone
parter Matternet offers a clear vision of how
such a system could work. Rather than having
drones run back and forth between stationary
warehouses, as Amazon's drone delivery plans
suggest , the van would drive around like any
other with a delivery man making rounds.
The difference would come with its drones,
which would be flying to areas out of reach
for the driver. Drones could track the van and
simply fly back to wherever its new location
would be. Matternet's autonomous M2 drones
could carry a package 4.4 pounds over 12
miles. This dual-wielding efficiency would
allow for packages to get sent out from the
electric van, with a battery that could take it
168 miles, all day.
In a press release, Mercedes-Benz has
imagined what a typical day would look like
for Pete Smith, a hypothetical ride-along
employee of the Vision Van.
[The van] scans the packages, sorts them and carries
out order picking, assigning them to special racks. A
driverless handling vehicle then loads the racks into the
intelligent van. Peter Smith can start his tour in a relaxed
state of mind. At the start of his shift, he simply enters
his Vision Van via the automatic sliding door on the right-
hand side and steers the vehicle by joystick from the
grounds of the distribution centre. The electric drive
system ensures that the Vision Van runs virtually silently
along the road and free of local emissions. Integrated
delivery drones are positioned on launching and landing
platforms on the roof.
Mercedes-Benz has put out a video suggesting
what Pete Smith would look like close-up,
complete with an LED drone warning for
drivers behind the van and fawning women
ecstatic over their deliveries.
While known in America for luxury cars,
Mercedes-Benz has a rather impressive van
portfolio. Selling 321,000 such vehicles in
2015 , the company has a wide range of brands
fitting different van niches. This makes it
unlikely that the Vision Van would first come
to America, the car company would probably
want to start where it already has a van
infrastructure in place. But with the Vision
Van, Mercedes-Benz and Matternet have set a
benchmark for small package delivery.
0 comments:
Post a Comment