The Cribbs Causeway mall in Gloucestershire, UK, will be running an unsupervised test with transport pods. Shoppers will be able to access the transportation pods between the hours of 10 AM to 4 PM. The project is named CAPRI, and it is being overseen by a number of different organizations including business and academic institutions. The project will assess people's reactions to autonomous transportation, and public road trials are scheduled latter in 2020.
George Lunt, the technical director at AECOM, spoke about the project, "However, for this idea to fully develop, it is vital the public are on board and have the chance to experience a mobility service that can potentially transform the way they travel."
The transportation pods utilize radar, and vision processing, in order to navigate crowded environments.
Unsupervised Autonomous Transport Pods
Autonomous Pods are Being Tested Among UK Mall Shoppers
Trend Themes
1. Unsupervised Autonomous Transport Pods - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Develop more advanced and efficient navigation systems for autonomous transport pods to navigate crowded environments, enhancing safety and efficiency.
2. Autonomous Transportation - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Explore the potential of autonomous transportation in transforming the way people travel, leading to new business models and mobility services.
3. Public Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Focus on building public trust and acceptance of autonomous vehicles through positive user experiences during trials and demonstrations.
Industry Implications
1. Retail - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Integrate autonomous transport pods within retail environments to enhance customer experiences and enable efficient logistics operations.
2. Transportation and Logistics - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Explore the use of autonomous transport pods to optimize transportation and logistics processes, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
3. Sensor Technology - Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Develop advanced radar and vision processing technologies for autonomous transport pods to improve navigation and obstacle detection capabilities.