Tiny Mercedes Autonomous Robots At CES 2017 – Video

 

Under the banner “Vans and Robots” Mercedes-Benz Vans presents a further pioneering project for the delivery of goods on the fringe of CES. In cooperation with Starship Technologies, an innovative delivery robot start-up, Mercedes-Benz Vans is transforming the van into a mobile goods depot and a distribution centre for automated last-mile delivery systems. The van becomes the basis of a new type of delivery system combining a high range with low infrastructure costs.

 

 

This solution is based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, incorporating a racking system which operates according to the first-in first-out principle. The rack is loaded with a total of 54 load carriers for eight Starship robots. An algorithm calculates a route for the van with optimised stops for unloading individual robots and for collecting empty robots. The robots are loaded at predefined stops. They then proceed autonomously to the delivery destination and return to the Mercedes-Benz van – their mobile hub – at one of the subsequent stops.

The long-term vision of this concept, which also goes by the name of “Mothership”, is an autonomous robot fleet which coordinates and optimises its routes autonomously with vans from Mercedes-Benz and which is loaded automatically. Cooperation with Starship Technologies is to be stepped up in pursuit of this vision and the project is continued.