Valeo, a French automotive supplier, is presenting an autonomous, electric pod prototype for e-commerce and food deliveries at CES 2020.
The electric pod prototype was developed with Meituan Dianping, a Chinese e-commerce platform for delivery, to demonstrate what last-mile delivery might look like in the future, especially with the growing number of zero-emissions zones cropping up around the world.
The prototype includes a delivery locker for safe delivery to end customers that can book the pod through a smartphone app. The prototype can deliver up to 17 meals per trip, autonomously traveling in urban environments at about 12 km per hour without generating any carbon emissions.
The prototype has a roughly 100 km range and the 48 V electric motor and 48 V inverter have already been produced and aligned with automotive industry standards. The electric motor system also includes a speed reducer, a 48 V battery, a DC/DC converter, a 48 V battery charger and electric power steering and braking systems, Valeo said.
The self-driving function of the prototype includes perception systems such as algorithms and sensors. It also comes equipped with four SCALA lidar sensors. There are multiple cameras and other sensors integrated into the prototype to provide awareness of its environment, including a front camera, two fisheye cameras, two radar devices and six ultrasonic sensors.
“The modularity of the platforms means our technologies can just as easily be fitted to cars, autonomous shuttles, robotaxis and even droids,” said Jacques Aschenbroich, chairman and CEO of Valeo. “These new markets will allow us to further consolidate our leadership around the world in vehicle electrification, driver assistance systems and autonomous driving.”
Similar self-driving, electric pod prototypes were on full display at CES 2019 with a number of concept vehicles that may never actually make it to production but showcase the far future of automotive mobility. This year’s show is expected to have a number of new prototypes that have not yet been revealed as well as some old favorites making a return. Expect to see more coverage on the future mobility types including more pods and interesting concept vehicles during CES 2020, which takes place Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas.
