AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: Autonomy for the city

Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 | Author: James Dallas

Ez Pro Dpd

Renault’s Ez Pro concept, developed with parcel delivery firm DPD

Where Renault’s autonomous plan differs to the one envisioned by the German brand is that it retains a human touch in the shape of a ‘concierge’ who would travel in the lead pod of a convoy of, for example, five vehicles, all of which have the ability to drive independently and autonomously to deliver orders or serve as workplaces, such as retail outlets, in separate locations.

Renault’s chief designer Laurens Van den Acker said: “We need to learn how many pods we need. We think a human presence will smooth out the operation.”

Although Renault envisages the concierge as having a joystick controller to manoeuvre the pods if required, they would not drive the convoy but would be able to manage and optimise routes digitally and deliver goods personally if that is what the customer requires – for example, in carrying items to a disabled person in a top-floor flat or in delivering high-value products.

For the rest of the time, without driving duties, the concierge would be able to work in what would effectively be a mobile office.

Van den Acker claimed the pods could be “tailor-made for customers’ needs” and could, for example, be used for logistics, deliveries, as food or coffee shops or as pop-up stores.
Pods delivering retail goods would contain lockers customers could open with a code on their smartphone, he said.

Primarily he believes the Ez Pro represents “ a model for last-mile deliveries in the years to come”.

He sees the van operating around the clock and stressed: “It must be able to deliver 24 hours to get out of the nine-to-five traffic crunch.”

He points out other advantages, such as not having to pay drivers to operate the pods – other than the concierge in the lead vehicle – and says an autonomous vehicle can either find a parking space while the concierge makes a delivery or just keep moving without needing to park.

As a last-mile delivery service Renault says the loaded pods would be taken to hubs by truck, train, or ship and then placed onto the Ez Pro platform.

Renault has designed the Ez Pro with reflective sides to mirror and blend in with the surrounding environment and with all the touch points – to control doors or to fit or remove the pod from its base – in green. The interior is furnished in wood to induce a feeling of natural warmth, according to Renault. The overall idea is that the pods should not be harsh or intrusive.

Having said that, people’s safety is paramount and warning lights are fitted to the exterior to alert pedestrians to a pod’s movements, such as when it is set to move away.

In developing Ez Pro Renault partnered with the parcel delivery group DPD to determine and find a way of meeting future urban customer demand.

Like Mercedes, Renault plans to initiate in-house rental schemes to encourage sharing of its autonomous vans.

While these concepts may currently look like they belong in a science fiction film, Louis Morasse, Renault’s LVC design director, pointed out: “[They] are designed with ease of customer use in mind.”

And as LCV director Philipe Devine added: “The human touch is important – it must improve the customer’s life.”

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