Could this be the last mile solution of the future?

The need for reduced handling during the Covid-19 crisis at a time when fewer people have been in their places of work has also given some operations an opportunity to experiment with limited autonomous delivery projects, although not in the UK.

This has been the case at Jacksonville in Florida US, where the Jacksonville Transit Authority has formed a partnership with autonomous transport services provider Beep, French autonomous driving systems producer Navya and the Mayo Clinic.

The project has been using autonomous vehicles to transport medical supplies and Covid-19 medical tests at the Mayo Clinic in Florida.

With medical resources under pressure, the autonomous vehicles are being used to transport Covid-19 test samples from a drive-through testing site at the Mayo Clinic to a processing laboratory on the Mayo Clinic campus a half mile away. Up to four of the unattended vehicles have been involved in this operation since March.

“Using artificial intelligence enables us to protect staff from exposure to this contagious virus by using cutting edge autonomous vehicle technology and frees up staff time that can be dedicated to direct treatment and care for patients,” explained Kent Thielen, chief executive of the Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Susan Beardslee, principal analyst, freight transportation & logistics with ABI research in the US told motortransport.co.uk: “I am seeing greater governmental approvals/exemptions to allow last mile delivery with a focus on contact-less delivery. I expect double-digit growth this year. This involves a move into more cities and for more scale and use cases. This includes both ground and air. As these are low speed, electrified and 'safe' I expect these to continue adding partners and locations.”

Beardslee gave seven examples of projects either approved, including the Mayo Clinic project, or under development. These are located in California, Washington State, Arizona, Texas and also in China.

However, the Covid-19 crisis does not appear to have accelerated development of heavy truck autonomous operation.