A driverless car on Indian roads may still be a distant dream, but companies are actively looking at ways to use other autonomous vehicles like tractors, buses, trucks, and even choppers. German logistics giant DHL, for instance, feels driverless trucks can halve logistics costs and improve customer service.
“In the last mile, on the line haul itself, the driverless technologies that are being piloted in Germany, we believe, have the potential to reduce line haul costs by 50 per cent,” Malcolm Monteiro, CEO, DHL eCommerce India told.
About 65 per cent of logistics movements in India happen by road and about 85 per cent of these are in the unorganised sector; typically, a driver takes a truck for a long distance, and has to make stops for rest and food, which reduces the efficiency of truck use.
“There’s a tremendous shortage of skilled drivers. We’re looking to see whether these vehicles can ply driverless in line haul on the last mile. If that happens, it brings in a lot of reliability into the system, besides reducing cost. Then we’ll probably not have to work on a hub-and-spoke model; we can even work point to point. So the entire business models could be looked at afresh with these technologies,” Monteiro said.
Govt ‘favourable’ to idea
Monteiro said the initial discussions with the Indian government over driverless technologies have been positive. “The government is favourable in terms of looking into it because it does realise there is a tremendous shortage of skilled drivers. So it will look at any technology to make sure the demand side is addressed. But we don’t have a concrete timeline. The intent is there, there’s ongoing discussion,” he added.
Safety aspects
But Moteiro said the company will test the safety aspects of driverless technologies in Germany before beginning pilots in India to ensure there is no scepticism about the technology here.
“If we get this to work, it might look at it, pilot it. The intent is there, there’s ongoing discussion,” said Monteiro.
DHL, however, is taking it one step at a time. “For a vehicle to be autonomous, driven fully, one of the first things that needs to happen is the electrification; we have a concrete target for electrification. And for autonomy to happen, we need everything electric. So, we are really focussing more of our efforts to electrify all our vehicles as a first step,” said Pang Mei Yee, Vice-President, Head of Innovation, Asia Pacific, Customer Solutions & Innovation, DHL.
Yee feels these technologies can make the existing trucks a lot safer and more efficient even as the company prepares itself for a fully autonomous future.
“Our smart trucks are a fantastic example where we are introducing a lot of optimisation efforts, notification to drivers for their behaviours. There are sensors that allow drivers to get reminded when they are eating while driving or when they are dozing off. So, progressively you’ll see intelligence built into the truck. Full autonomous vehicles are still some time off,” Yee said.