At CES, Continental exhibited how a driverless vehicle could be used to stage and deploy delivery robots, taking packages all the way to the consumer, even when they’re not able to physically receive them.
The Continental Urban Mobility Experience (CUbE), Continental’s autonomous electrified development platform, is generally considered as a solution for urban first/last mile mobility. This type of vehicle, often referred to as a robo-taxi or pod, will be a part of the seamless mobility value chain. The purpose of these vehicles will be extended to goods delivery to further use available transport capacity and reduce idle times. Market estimations show that the need to transport goods will even outpace the strongly growing need for people transport in densely populated areas.
“With the help of robot delivery, Continental’s vision for seamless mobility can extend right to your doorstep. Our vision of cascaded robot delivery leverages a driverless vehicle to carry delivery robots, creating an efficient transport team,” said Ralph Lauxmann, Head of Systems & Technology, Chassis & Safety division, Continental.
Continental view automated goods delivery as an integral part of future urban mobility as an addition to conventional goods delivery. The CUbE can carry one or multiple delivery robots and deploy them to handle the last yards of the goods and parcel delivery logistics chain. “Industrialising the automation of goods delivery requires reliable, robust, high-performing and best-cost technology—a mix perfectly reflected in the automotive equivalent of automation. It is this very profile of expertise that has made Continental one of the industry-leading suppliers of advanced driver assistance systems and vehicle automation”, Lauxmann said.
