This week we will investigate a new Artificial Muscle Fibre that may have applications in humans muscle repair and in robot agility and movement. We also take a an in depth tour of the developments in the distribution networks that deliver a package from the point of manufacture to our homes. We split the analysis up into the First Miles, the Middle Miles and the Last Miles. The solutions are quite different for each sector. Finally we take a quick look at a couple of possible developments for in-home robots.
Artificial Muscle Fibres
A team at the University of California has developed a way to create an artificial fibre that works very much like human muscle. The process may be used to replace damaged muscles in humans or to give human like qualities to robots.
The team used an old process called electro spinning that was developed for smart fibre and in some cases tissue regeneration. Using a Liquid Crystal Elastomer (a type of polymer) they created a solution that was sucked into a small syringe-like apparatus. A burst of very high voltage was shot through, causing the polymer to exit the tip of the apparatus in a very thin stream. That stream was directed at a spinning metal mesh that acted as a collector. As the stream dried, it formed into an elastic fibre measuring 10 to 100 micrometers in diameter.
The fibre has properties similar to human muscle fibers such as tensile strength, high power density and quick responsiveness. The fibre could also be activated (contracted) using heat or near infrared light. The team built micro tweezers, a micro swimming device, a tiny artificial arm and a micro fluidic pump. The process is easy and inexpensive so could find a wide variety of applications.
The Future of Delivery
Delivering goods from the place of manufacture or creation to the home is a big topic and one that we have spoken about regularly. This week we will examine where all those automation efforts are up to and discover what is next.
The First Miles
One of the leaders in this space, Aurora, has just announced the release of their latest hardware set. The goal is to debut the system in commercial pilots this year in preparation for a full launch in 2023 and 2024.
Aurora is initially focusing on automating the long distance trucking sector. Delivery from the point of manufacture to the point of distribution. This may be a distribution center or a port for export. It is likely that automated trucks will initially be required to have safety drivers. However as systems improve and car drivers become more used to automated vehicles on the highway, the safety drivers will be phased out. There is currently a shortage of long haul truck drivers with many in the industry nearing retirement. Automation will be adopted relatively quickly once it becomes accepted practice.
The Middle Mile
The movement of goods from a distribution center to the point of sale, usually a retail store is a more difficult problem to address than highway automation. Middle Mile delivery has to contend with city traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and other modes of movement.
There is however, no shortage of companies addressing this space. Gatik, based in Palo Alto in California and Toronto has delivered the first of their electric self driving trucks. It is a modified Ford Transit350 HD that has been fitted with an electric powertrain for a range of 200 kilometers. Perfect for delivery within a city. The vehicles can be recharged as they are loaded and unloaded.
The advantage that delivery trucks have over self driving cars is that all the required routes are known in advance and have been driven many times before. Self Driving cars are likely to need to undertake different routes from and to a multitude of destinations every day.
Walmart expects that its’ Gatik self driving truck used in Bentonville Arkansas, will have approval to remove the safety driver and be fully driverless sometime in 2021. A second delivery route in New Orleans will commence in September 2021.
The Last Mile
The last mile is considered the most difficult part of delivery to solve however there is certainly no shortage of companies trying to solve the problem.
Kiwibot
Kiwibot is a semi autonomous delivery robot that can operate with minimal intervention. To date 400 Kiwibots have delivered over 150,000 food drop-offs in their testing in San Jose. They have just announced an expansion to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Miami. The bot is like a mobile esky, that uses a push notification to the consumer as it reaches its’ destination to allow unlocking and retrieval of the meal. Most of the remote human supervisors of the bots are located in Columbia. Kiwibot is one of many of this type of delivery bot.
Nuro
We have featured Nuro’s delivery bots previously. This month Nuro broke ground on a 125,000 square foot factory for production of their automated delivery bots in Nevada. The factory will be able to produce 10’s of thousands of bots per year. Nuro has also taken over 74 acres of the Las Vegas Speedway to build a closed course testing facility to speed up validation of the autonomous on road vehicles.
AxleHire
AxleHire is an LA based same day delivery company. Over the past year it has been piloting automated delivery bots from Tortoise in LA (very similar to kiwibot) and URB-E e-bike container delivery in New York City. AxelHire is known for delivery of meal kits from Blue Apron and HelloFresh.
The e-bike is able to use bike lanes with a rider and is vastly faster in crowded New York than the standard trucks whilst being able to transport up to 360 kilograms of meal boxes at a time.
Agility Robotics
In conjunction with Ford, Agility Robotics have continued their development of Digit. Digit is a fully automated 5 foot tall robot, with 2 arms and legs and a sensor where its’ head should be. Ford is aiming for Digit to travel in the back of self driving delivery vans. When the van reaches its’ destination, Digit opens the back and climbs out to deliver a package.
Digit can recharge in the back of the van between stops, therefore does not need bulky batteries. The vans’ LiDAR and cameras can be used to provide Digit with a detailed map to its destination and back.
Ford hopes to launch its’ fully automated taxi and delivery service in 2021. Ford has made no announcement on when Digit will travel in the back of the van to deliver the packages. Current manufacturing capability is limited however Ford will no doubt boost capacity once the prototypes are cleared for service.
Delivery drones
There are a multitude of companies working on delivery drones. They include Amazon, Airbus, Deutsche Post, JD.com (Chinese e-commerce site), Google, Uber, Boeing, Wing Aviation, SkyCart and Matternet.
Once the aviation and security issues are solved, expect to see delivery drones in your neighborhood. The pandemic has seen a massive increase in home delivery. How all those packages will be delivered will change dramatically in the near future.
Before we finish let’s have a quick look at a couple of robotic developments inside the home.
Home Robots
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla has, in his usual style announced the development of a humanoid robot, called Tesla Bot. There was little detail and not much has been developed however the presentation was full of promises on capability.
The robot will be an assistant in the home. It will be programmed to carry out different tasks including picking up all those packages that are now being delivered to the door. The robot will have a top speed of 8 kilometers per hour. Just in case it turns rogue, it will be slow enough for most of us to run away from it (remember, you don’t have to outrun the robot be safe, you just have to outrun the slowest member of your household).
Tesla has commenced hiring for the project however that has not stopped some commentators from declaring that Elon is just joking and that the project is not real. Time will tell, however recent history has shown, it is wise not to bet against Elon.
Finally James Dyson, the inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner has just patented a stair climbing ability for its’ robot vacuum technology. However there may be more to the robot than just vacuuming. The patent shows that the robot is capable of holding a cup and opening drawers. The patent drawings show a vacuum robot that has wheels for feet and extendable arms. Dyson files a lot of patents so it is unclear if they are developing a home assistance robot or filing patents to protect ideas.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com or comment below.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.