In this series of 2 articles we will look at two technology development projects currently going on at the tech giant Google. We look at the developments of "Google Glass" and "Google Driverless Car" and review how these could potentially impact logistics processes in the future. In this article we review Google Driverless Car.
Google Driverless Car
Google Driverless Car
Another Google X research lab project is even more disruptive than Google Glass, Google’s Driverless Car technology. In a recent Forbes publication, contributor Chunka Mui wrote a series of very interesting articles about this subject and the massive impact on many area’s (an absolute must read).
In the articles Mui states that people have a tendency to underestimate the impact of new technology. We have all seen how the music industry misjudged the impact of online music, how the arrival of the iPad impacts the PC industry (when was the last time you bought a bulky desktop?) and how a company like Kodak missed the mark on digital cameras. With its Driverless Car development Google is creating a piece of technology that could have far reaching impact. For the logistics industry it could well mean a complete rethinking of logistics and transport operations of the future. It could also signal one of the biggest cost restructuring opportunities in logistics.
The Driverless Car developments are still in early stages, but the speed in which it is evolving is impressive. The states of California and Nevada recently handed Google is first license for driverless vehicles, which opens the way of expanding the testing in real life situations.
What’s next: Google Driverless Truck?
The current focus of Google is on cars, but we can easily imagine this technology to be expanded to trucks in the future. Google’s aim is to reduce wasted commute time, improve fuel efficiency and relieve traffic congestion by allowing cars to go faster and operate closer together or choose more efficient routing. A spin off effect is to improve road safety and reduce accidents. Note: According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about 9% of annual traffic accidents involve large trucks.
At this moment truck manufacturers are already busy testing and implementing adaptive breaking technology, with the aim to reduce accidents. Once Driverless Car technology is ready for implementation in trucks it will have a far reaching effect on logistics. It most likely does not mean that there will be no more drivers in the cabin (someone still needs to put in the fuel on long hauls I guess) but the tasks of the driver will change.
Mass adoption of driverless cars (and trucks) will most likely take a few decades and there are many practical and resistance hurdles to jump still. In a future world however, where there is mass adoption of driverless cars and trucks the impact on logistics could be massive. After the initial investment, cost benefits will start to show for logistics operators in more efficient driving and utilization of vehicles, reduced fuel costs, lower insurance and longer hours of operation (no driver time limitations). We can imagine that initial pilot projects will involve the “easier” long haul routes, but who knows the next best thing might be that your UPS or FedEx delivery vans are robot operated.
We are clearly in an age where internet and robotics technology are rapidly evolving and are more and more impacting our daily lives. The logistics industry is certainly not slow in adopting. Last year Foxconn announced its plans to install 1 million robots in its factories to make its logistics operations more efficient. The continuous evolution of technology means that logistics operators need to stay on top of their game and follow and adapt/adopt quickly to stay in the race. Nobody wants to be the next dinosaur.
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