AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY
BY DRONE ... ROBOT ...
DRIVERLESS CAR Autonomous delivery vehicles are primed to change how consumers receive products at their doorstep BY DA N O C H WAT
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n April, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared Google’s Project Wing to begin operating in the United States, awarding the autonomous drone delivery service with an “Air Carrier Certification.” It’s a major step for the use of drones but also for the legitimization of autonomous delivery as a whole – as the retail industry continues to explore meaningful tests around drones, last-mile robots and autonomous cars. A 2016 study by McKinsey & Co. on the future of delivery predicts a world where nearly 80% of global deliveries will be automated. The report sees governments continuing to approve
September 2019
and adopt regulations around autonomous vehicles in the next 10 years, and public sentiment is increasing. (At the time of the report, 60% of consumers surveyed were already in favor.) “Autonomous delivery is one of the core emerging technologies in retail today,” according to Bryce Paden, co-founder of i2i Labs, an agency that researches and commercializes tech for consumer goods clients. “The entire retail ecosystem revolves around the supply chain, and delivery tech is changing the way that chain functions.” Sterling Hawkins, co-founder of CART, the Center for Advancing
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