Driverless delivery demo at DP World

Employees at large worksites can find themselves doing a lot of driving between buildings to retrieve packages. Could an autonomous vehicle help reduce this amount of driving?
 
That was the topic of a research trial we recently undertook with DP World London Gateway, one of the UK’s fastest growing ports.  

 
The initiative is part of our Self-Driving Research Programme, designed to help businesses understand how autonomous vehicles could benefit their operations. ¹ The DP World trial tested how recipients managed when accessing a self-driving delivery vehicle themselves.

NB: The van shown is driven in a private secure area not on public roads. Parking conducted in a designated loading zone only accessible to DP World staff.

Key to the trial was our specially adapted Transit fitted out to mimic the look of an actual self-driving vehicle – the driver is concealed within a “Human Car Seat”. This vehicle was also used in our first driverless deliveries trial with Hermes. 

Employees at DP World’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.

NB: The van shown is driven in a private secure area not on public roads. Parking conducted in a designated loading zone only accessible to DP World staff.

Staff normally get their packages from reception themselves. While time consuming, these trips do not warrant a full-time driver. The simulated self-driving van gave DP World staff a glimpse of the future, and they quickly became comfortable with using the specially equipped van.

“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.”

Ernst Schulze,
UK chief executive of DP World.

The underlying intention behind our research programme is to identify new opportunities and models for autonomous vehicle operations – in particular, understanding how existing processes and human interactions can work alongside automated vehicles.

 

“It was incredible to see how enthusiastically the team at DP World embraced working with the support of a self-driving vehicle. What worked so well at DP World premises could equally be of benefit at universities, airports and manufacturing facilities."

Richard Balch, director,
Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility, Ford of Europe.

 
 
¹ Tests for Ford’s Self-Driving Research Programme are conducted under controlled settings. 

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