Automated Freight Summit: Day Three

July 9, 2021 | AUVSI News

AUVSI today hosted the final day of the first-ever Automated Freight Summit (AFS) with discussions on automated mobility systems and last-mile delivery solutions – all during a critical moment for this sector. With technology advancing, a large federal infrastructure spending package anticipated, and localities seeking recovery from the fluctuations on transportation demands during the height of the COVID-19 situation, Mark de la Vergne from Cavnue urged attendees to think about how this is an important moment to consider what we want our collective mobility future to look like. 

Alia Verloes from Steer shared report findings that show some of the benefits society could see as a result of autonomous delivery services in the future, which includes primary benefits like decreased traffic accidents, congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions, as well secondary benefits like job creation, investments in localities, and an overall value-add to the GDP. 

How do we reach these social benefits and achieve a future that improves the entire transportation ecosystem? Throughout the panel discussions, experts emphasized that industry cohesion and collaboration are key to achieving comprehensive problem-solving. 

Only by working together can industry, academia, and government effectively leverage automated technologies to: 

• Address existing mobility gaps; 

• Support a safer transportation future; 

• Demonstrate safety and establish trustworthiness; 

• Ensure new systems function with existing infrastructure; 

• Support multi-modal roadways that combine freight, first and last mile deliveries by drones and robots, and passenger vehicles; and, 

• Understand where regulatory updates are needed. 

Finally, panelists discussed how it is well-known in the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry that while the public at large may be uncertain about AVs, those who have interacted with an AV express high levels of trust and interest in using the technology. Panelists asserted that barriers to acceptance and trust can be similarly overcome when interfacing with state and local legislators, regulators, and other officials. AV companies that have already started pilots in one state will be able to demonstrate responsible deployment to local officials, paving the way for future relationships with other companies seeking to launch their own pilot programs in the area. 

AUVSI’s Automated Freight Task Force brings together diverse stakeholders throughout the industry – including representatives from organizations that participated in AFS this week – together to address challenges surrounding automated freight. Organizations interested in joining the Task Force can contact Jackie Beckwith at jbeckwith@auvsi.org for more information.