Ford: Driverless Delivery in London Docklands

Ford and the London port operating company DP World London Gateway have tested the benefits of autonomous vehicles on large operational grounds as part of a joint pilot project. The twist: a driver was hidden in the transit. The initiative is part of Ford's research program on self-driving automobiles. It aims to demonstrate the advantages of this technology to corporate customers for their own operations and identify new use cases.

The pilot project with DP World started in June 2021 and highlights the specifics of courier services, including the delivery of goods and packages to the doorstep, the company announced. The focus was particularly on how recipients react to autonomous delivery services and how existing processes can be adjusted.

"Incredible how enthusiastically DP World employees responded to the support from self-driving transporters," says Richard Balch, Director for Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility at Ford Europe.

We will continue our cooperation with our customers to further learn how self-driving cars can bring benefits to these companies. Balch expressed positive views on how this new technology could impact various industries and locations.

"What worked excellently at DP World could also benefit universities, airports, and production sites in the future," he believes.

Ford is testing the new technology for self-driving automobiles in close collaboration with its partners at Argo AI in various major US cities. The company has planned investments totaling more than six billion euros over a ten-year period until 2025. Of this amount, 4.3 billion euros will be available from 2021 as part of the mobility initiative.

Transit in autonomous operation

For the experimental setup at DP World London Gateway, Ford adapted a Transit - a light commercial vehicle in the two-ton payload range - to look from the outside like a self-driving, autonomous transporter. In reality, however, it was controlled by a driver who was well hidden in an appropriate seat and not visible from the outside. The cargo space of the delivery van contained lockers where employees of the central DP World goods receiving department could securely store packages. At fixed times, the van traveled the 3.5-kilometer route to the main reception, where the respective recipients retrieved the parcels from the lockers. Previously, these employees had to pick up the packages themselves at the goods receiving department - a process that took a lot of time without justifying a specially dedicated employee.

Employees quickly adapt

The project supervisors accompanied and analyzed every step of this test. They conducted extensive interviews with the involved employees before, during, and after the trial period. It was found that the test subjects quickly adapted to the specially equipped transporter and recognized and utilized its advantages. Some proactively instructed their colleagues on the proper use of the locker system, while others cleverly circumvented problems artificially caused by the project managers - such as deliberately misfiled packages.