Package delivery robots' environmental impacts: Automation matters less
than vehicle type

Date:
August 18, 2021
Source:
University of Michigan
Summary:
Whether a robot or a person delivers your package, the carbon
footprint would essentially be the same, according to a new study
that could help inform the future of automated delivery as the
pandemic fuels a dramatic rise in online shopping.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Whether a robot or a person delivers your package, the carbon footprint
would essentially be the same, according to a University of Michigan
study that could help inform the future of automated delivery as the
pandemic fuels a dramatic rise in online shopping.


==========================================================================
The researchers examined the environmental impacts of advanced residential package delivery scenarios that use electric and gas-powered autonomous vehicles and two-legged robots to ferry goods from delivery hubs to neighborhoods, and then to front doors. They compared those impacts with
the traditional approach of a human driver who hand-delivers parcels.

They found that while robots and automation contribute less than 20% of
a package's footprint, most of the greenhouse gas emissions come from
the vehicle. Vehicle powertrain and fuel economy are the key factors determining the package's footprint. Switching to electric vehicles and reducing the carbon intensity of the electricity they run on could have
the biggest impacts in sustainable parcel delivery, the researchers say.

Their study is a life cycle analysis of the cradle-to-grave greenhouse
gas emissions for 12 suburban delivery scenarios. It's unique in that it doesn't just tally emissions from the delivery process. It also counts greenhouse gases from manufacturing the vehicles and robots, as well as disposing of them or recycling them at the end of their lives.

"We found that the energy and carbon footprints of this automated parcel delivery in suburban areas was similar to that of conventional human
driven vehicles. The advantages of better fuel economy through vehicle automation were offset by greater electricity loads from automated vehicle power requirements," said Gregory Keoleian, the Peter M. Wege Endowed
Professor of Sustainable Systems at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and a professor of civil and environmental engineering.

"For all delivery systems studied, the vehicle-use phase is the single
largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting the need
for low-carbon fuels for sustainable parcel delivery. It is critically important to decarbonize grids while deploying electrified vehicles." Optimizing 'the last mile' in a surging package delivery market


========================================================================== E-commerce and COVID-19-related demand for contactless delivery has stoked industry interest in robots and autonomous vehicles to make the process
more efficient. UPS and Waymo are testing an autonomous delivery van in Arizona, for example. Ford Motor Co. and Agility Robotics are exploring
a system that would use a two-legged walking robot to cart packages from
the delivery van to the doorstep. And Amazon and FedEx are among those
testing drones and autonomous delivery robots.

Indeed, the automated last-mile delivery market has the potential for
sevenfold growth and could reach $11.9 billion by 2030, according to
Allied Market Research. The "last mile" refers to the final leg of a
product's journey from a local distribution center to the customer. It's
also the most expensive, most carbon-intensive and least energy-efficient
link in the supply chain.

Automated last-mile approaches have the potential to reduce delivery
costs between 10% and 40% in cities, studies have shown. But their environmental impacts should be explored before automated approaches
are widely adopted, researchers say.

Delivery scenarios with different automation levels, drivetrains and
vehicle sizes The team evaluated emissions from three delivery scenarios
and four vehicle platforms. Delivery scenarios include:
* Conventional, in which a human drives the vehicle the "last mile"
around
the neighborhood and delivers each package to the doorstep?also
referred to as the "final 50-feet"
* Partially automated, in which a human drives the last mile and
a robot
completes the final 50 feet
* Fully automated, in which a connected and automated vehicle
drives the
last mile and a robot takes parcels to doorsteps
For each scenario, they analyzed internal combustion engine and
battery electric powertrains on two sizes of delivery vehicle?a roughly 120-cubic-foot van about the size of a Nissan cargo van and 350-cubic-foot model based on the Ford Transit full-size cargo van.



==========================================================================
They found that the smallest carbon footprint?167 grams of CO2 per
package?came from conventional delivery with the smaller, electric
van. And the largest?at 486 grams per package?came from the partially
automated scenario that relied on the larger, gas-powered van and a
two-legged robot.

"Results suggest that automated delivery systems could have slightly
greater life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than conventional delivery
systems for smaller-sized vans, but there is potential opportunity to
reduce emissions for larger-sized vans," Keoleian said. "Compared to
the conventional scenario, full automation results in similar greenhouse
gas emissions for the large gasoline powered cargo van, but 10% higher
for the smaller battery electric van.

Keoleian added that no single automated delivery system will suit all situations, and in addition to environmental performance, other factors
will need to be considered, such as life cycle costs, safety, visual
impact and social sustainability factors such as employment impacts.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Michigan. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Luyao Li, Xiaoyi He, Gregory A. Keoleian, Hyung Chul Kim, Robert De
Kleine, Timothy J. Wallington, Nicholas J. Kemp. Life Cycle
Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Last-Mile Parcel Delivery by Automated
Vehicles and Robots. Environmental Science & Technology, 2021; 55
(16): 11360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c08213 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818135230.htm

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