Early on, the pandemic, which passed a serious milestone of over 100,000 deaths in the US this week, motivated the closure of companies that were not considered essential for the wellbeing of workers. A badly affected industry was self-driving vehicles, the operators and developers of which were forced to stop the pilots under the guidance of state and local officials. However, several companies resumed testing after implementing a number of new security protocols. And in a kind of bright spot amidst a flood of bad news, they have converted their vehicles for deliveries to the needy or are planning to use them for other purposes.
Some experts predict that the Corona virus outbreak will accelerate the introduction of autonomous vehicles for delivery. A study published by CarGurus found that 39% of people feared inadequate sanitation after the pandemic would not use manually controlled carpooling. Despite the public concerns Regarding driverless cars and their need for regular disinfection, they promise to minimize the risk of disease spreading by inherently limiting driver-driver contact.
Beep Mobility, which provides autonomous, fully managed mobility solutions such as driverless shuttles to private and public communities, has announced VentureBeat that food is being sent to frontline staff at the Orlando Veteran Affairs Medical Center and Nemours Children's Hospital near its headquarters in Lake Nona, Florida. Working with real estate developer Tavistock Development and Park Pizza and Brewing Co., a local restaurant, the company was able to provide contactless meals so healthcare workers could stay on campus.
Since March 30, Beep has been working with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida to transport COVID-19 tests for processing from one transit point to another facility in the hospital. The collaboration provided the Mayo Clinic with a "safe and reliable" means of transport for the tests and at the same time relieved the employees of more urgent tasks.
"During our break, we at Beep quickly mobilized our team to reuse our shuttles and help the community ship COVID-19 tests to deliver food to healthcare workers at the front of this pandemic," said a Beep -Speaker to VentureBeat. “Our goal is the relaunch in June. Since the pandemic, we have … received several new orders to provide autonomous mobility services in several new markets. "
Another autonomous driver – Optimus ride – This week it was announced that three of its vehicles will be delivered on the Yards, a waterfront development in Washington, DC, starting this week. The restaurant and the Bluejacket brewery in the DC area deliver one-week ferry boxes with groceries and ingredients that are provided by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture for families in need. Recipients are identified by Pathways to Housing, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness.
At the beginning of the year, Optimus Ride launched an operation in Paradise Valley Estates – a private 80-hectare community for assisted living in Fairfield, California – and adapted the program deliver 50-80 meals a day for residents during the pandemic. It also offers parcel delivery by autonomous shuttle to residents, many of whom can no longer gather in the public areas of the community.
"Despite COVID-19, Optimus Ride has made tremendous progress … We have added a new market in logistics that includes the delivery of ready meals, food and other types of packages as part of our self-driving system," the company said. “Optimus Ride continues to operate during the pandemic and is currently focused on logistics. In fact, we believe the pandemic has accelerated some deployments in our extensive customer pipeline. "
For its part, Gatik – a startup that transports goods between fulfillment centers to retail stores, distribution centers and offices with autonomous Ford Transit delivery vans up to 7 days a week and 12 hours a day – plans to expand to Michigan. (In July 2019, the company signed a contract with "multiple" retail partners, including Walmart, for on-demand and scheduled freight shipments.) In collaboration with one of the state's largest retailers, the company will operate its multi-equipped trucks – temperature compartments for fresh Groceries, chilled and frozen foods as well as medical care in defined, defined ways to make it easier for residents to order online and contactlessly.
“With COVID-19, Gatik's solution has never been so important. Retailers face major logistical challenges and a dramatic increase in online orders. Gatik's business model and product offerings ensure a resilient supply chain and improve public health and safety through contactless delivery, ”said a spokesman.
Beep, Optimus Ride and Gatik are not the only autonomous vehicle manufacturers to finally use their technologies during the pandemic. Cruise moved its vehicles to deliver meals to the SF-Marin Food Bank and SF New Deal, two food banks serving low-income families in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Autonomous Driving Joint Venture Hyundai-Aptiv, a collaboration between Hyundai and Aptiv to develop driverless vehicle technologies, uses driverless vehicles in Las Vegas to deliver food to families in collaboration with the non-profit organization Delivery with Dignity. And Nuro uses his shuttles for this transport medical care around the event center in San Mateo and the Sleep Train Arena for people with COVID-19.
Fortunately, it just seems to be the tip of the iceberg for a technological use case that makes a difference.
Send news tips to Khari Johnson and Kyle Wiggers for AI reporting – be sure to subscribe to the weekly AI newsletter and bookmark our AI channel.
Thank you for reading,
Kyle Wiggers
AI Staff Writer
