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Key points: a range of autonomous delivery vehicles will reduce the number of trips that families make, especially those in more built-up areas. Sidewalk bots
by tuatoru 4y ago
Key points: a range of autonomous delivery vehicles will reduce the number of trips that families make, especially those in more built-up areas.
Sidewalk bots that weigh 50 lb and move at 4 mph (already in operation); bike lane bots that weigh 100-150 lb and move at 12 - 15 mph (ditto); golf cart bots that weigh a few hundred lb and move at 25 mph (being trialed); large trucks on freeways, and eventually vans.
Also, aerial taxis for slightly longer trips: 6-10 seat short range electric planes that can use small local airfields to fly point to point, up to 200 mi or so.
The shrinking role is more about reducing annual mileage on the Camry in the garage from 12,000 mi to 6,000 mi or less, than it is about autonomous electric taxis.
- adastra22 4y agoFor certain hip young urban dwellers maybe. I literally don’t have a single use for any of the things that you mention.
- tuatoru 4y agoYou never get anything delivered? Remarkable.
- adastra22 4y agoThat wouldn’t be substitutive of my own car mileage as your comment implies.
- tuatoru 4y agoIncreasing the variety of things that are delivered (and the percentage of purchases delivered rather than fetched), rather than you fetching them yourself, would do that.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- gotorazor 4y agoIt must have, if you have done an Amazon purchase and had it delivered to your home. And, if it really hasn't for you, it has for the many millions of people who have substituted getting things delivered to their house instead of driving out to get it themselves. For better or worse, electricfication of transportation, whether that involves automation or not, is happening and will be impactful.
- londons_explore 4y agoI'm not sure most deliveries really reduce the recipients mileage. The alternative to Uber eats coming round with dinner 5 times a week is that you bought enough food to cook your own dinner when you went shopping on Monday.
- tuatoru 4y agoWher I live, the supermarket has been doing deliveries for over five years. Up to 40 miles away. Closer deliveries could easily be made by low-speed autonomous electric golf cart sized vehicles.
- HermanMartinus 4y agoI agree with the fact that it's better to cook at home than order in 5 times a week. However there are many people who just don't cook, and I think that 5 Uber deliveries a week is better than 5 trips to get takeout (assuming the Uber delivery is done on motorcycle or bicycle compared to trips in the car).
- rascul 4y agoSeems like it might depend. I might be able to pick up dinner on my way home but delivery might need a whole round trip. In some cases delivery might be able to make a few deliveries in one trip but I'm not sure if that's done in general for things like Uber eats.
- adastra22 4y agoPeople already use Amazon for deliveries before autonomous driving. That substitution already happened, and switching to autonomous vehicles for last mile deliver isn’t going to change the consumer’s driving habits. Again, either you use Uber eats or, like me, you don’t. I don’t see how the mechanism of deliver changes that decision, for the customer?
- lm28469 4y agoThere is a big gap between what the average person does, what they need and what they should do. More efficient deliveries will only have one consequence, and it's always the same, everything you gain will be cancelled by the rebound effect