insight
“We envisage that cities could benefit massively if deliveries could be made by quiet, zero emissions automated vehicles when congestion is
minimal.” SIMON TONG Continued from p9
Ocado is looking at the entire
delivery process, from user interaction to warehousing and robotics, artificial intelligence to cloud-based delivery algorithms. The firm has 580,000 active customers and makes 230,000 deliveries a week, each averaging at least 50 items. With over half of those orders made with a smartphone, it is perhaps unsurprising that Ocado Technology now employs around 950 software engineers. The potential market for developments
in last-mile delivery software extend beyond Ocado’s own operations however, as the company would be prepared to licence the technology to
ELECTRIC ORDER Mail delivers with electric Partners
Royal Mail is to bring into service 100 Peugeot Partner electric vans around the UK from December, supported by a comprehensive rollout of charging infrastructure. “With electric vehicles firmly on the agenda this week [the announcement coincided with the government’s decision to ban the sale of diesel and electric cars and vans from 2040], there couldn’t be a better time to announce this landmark deal with the Royal Mail,” says PSA group fleet director Martin Gurney. Paul Gatti, Royal Mail fleet director, said: “Our research has shown that electric vans are a good operational fit with our business and we are delighted to be ordering such a large volume to use in our daily operations. This is good news for our customers and the towns and cities which we serve. It also means we are on the front foot for future changes in emissions legislation. “Emissions are an important issue for
us at Royal Mail and we are continuously looking at new and innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint and our
10 VanUser August 2017
other delivery specialists. “This trial with Ocado Technology
provides an ideal platform to help us understand where these vehicles could best operate and whether people would accept, trust and like them as an automated delivery service in the city,” said TRL principal research scientist Simon Tong. “We envisage that cities could benefit
massively if deliveries could be made by quiet, zero emissions automated vehicles when congestion is minimal.” We may not be in Star Wars territory
here, but the technology to guide a vehicle to a destination is already in use. The GATEway project takes us a step closer to self-driving zero emission delivery vehicles on UK roads.
Dan Gilkes
impact on air quality. Improving the efficiency of our fleet by introducing electric vans is just one example of this.” The Partner L2 Electric was launched
in February and this is the first major fleet order for the van. It will carry a gross payload of 552kg with a range of up to 106 miles.
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