Continental has arrived at the 2019 Consumer
Electronics Show to explore how a self-driving shuttle could be used in order
to deploy delivery robots, which in turn can bring packages directly to
consumers. The shuttle is called the Continental Urban Mobility Experience
(CUbE) and it’s meant for a market in which the need to transport goods will
outpace the growing need for people transport in densely populated areas.
According to Continental, goods and parcel delivery
to residential areas is a growing market, which means that delivery cost per
hour is becoming an even more important metric. The company is therefore
viewing goods delivery as an integral part of future urban mobility, which is
why the CUbE can carry multiple delivery robots, to be deployed for the last
yards of the goods and parcel delivery logistics chain.
In the end, considering how many deliveries are made
during daytime, when most people are at work or school, having an autonomous
shuttle team up with delivery robots during off-peak hours could be a very
efficient solution.