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Y4R1 - Evaluating the Adoption and Impact of Autonomous Delivery Modern Technologies

项目名称：	Y4R1 - Evaluating the Adoption and Impact of Autonomous Delivery Modern Technologies
摘要：	The tremendous potential of technology-driven innovations to address the inefficiencies in last mile deliveries has prompted e-commerce companies, retail chains, logistic providers and technology start-ups to invest in sidewalk autonomous delivery robots (SADRs) and road autonomous delivery vehicles (RADRs). The growing appeal for utilizing SADR and RADR technologies arises from the increased demand for same-day deliveries in business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce and the associated challenges for logistics providers (Cárdenas et al., 2017; Jennings and Figliozzi, 2019; Wang et al., 2016). Apart from improving the delivery efficiency, autonomous vehicles have the potential for initiating a more sustainable, and customer focused delivery practice with limited externalities on road congestion, noise and CO₂ emissions (Hardi and Wagner, 2019; Stolaroff et al., 2018). Due to the rapid advancements sensing technology and artificial intelligence algorithms, large-scale deployments of autonomous delivery vehicles are on the verge of becoming a reality in some delivery scenarios with known and repeatable routes. SADRs and RADRs developed by Amazon, FedEx, Starship, and Nuro are already deployed and being tested in multiple U.S. cities. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for contactless deliveries that avoid the risk of person-to-person infection has made it clear that autonomous robot deliveries have many advantages. Consumers, businesses, and governments have switched from cautious beta testers into eager early adopters. Despite this unprecedented requirement necessitated by the pandemic, SADRs and RADRs need to be deployed by logistics service providers and Government agencies in a way that is generally accepted by the public. In fact, if not widely accepted by the public, the development and introduction of autonomous delivery vehicles can be a substantial waste of resources for logistics service providers and vehicle developers alike. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct micro-level behavioral research on user acceptance early in the deployment roadmap of delivery robots to be able to design, develop and promote them as an accepted alternative to its conventional delivery practices (i.e., van-based human delivery). One of the contributions of the proposed project is to address this urgent research gap by investigating the psychological factors that determine public acceptance of ADRs (Autonomous Delivery Robots) from an end-consumer perspective. To evaluate delivery robot adoption rates and tradeoffs it is necessary to model how vehicles are likely to evolve. Technology is evolving rapidly and new players like Tesla are entering the heavy and light truck electric vehicle (EV) market pushing up freight EV efficiency and capabilities (Ulrich, 2020). Delivery cost is an important variable that is changing as technologies and vehicles are evolving. In addition, cities are reevaluating how to assign and prioritize roadway and curb infrastructure during and after COVID-19 (Davies, 2020). Autonomous delivery vehicles can also interact with smart curb and parking management technology in ways that may increase delivery efficiency and resource utilization by reducing double parking and congestion (Jennings and Figliozzi, 2019). ADRs are also likely to affect not just the last mile but also the last echelons of supply chains.
状态：	Active
资金：	266740
资助组织：	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
项目负责人：	Stearns, Amy
执行机构：	Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton<==>Portland State University<==>University of Memphis
开始时间：	20210604
预计完成日期：	20210824
实际结束时间：	20210824
主题领域：	Data and Information Technology；Environment；Freight Transportation；Safety and Human Factors；Security and Emergencies；Vehicles and Equipment