Oxbotica, Goggo team up for autonomous middle-mile delivery

Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentacion SA

22/03/2023 08:00

By Nick Carey
       LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - British self-driving
software startup Oxbotica and autonomous delivery company Goggo
Network said on Wednesday they are teaming up to test
middle-mile deliveries for retailers and other customers
including Carrefour  CARR.PA  and Dia  DIDA.MC .
    The partnership will initially see Berlin-based Goggo
deploying Oxbotica's autonomy software in Spain in middle-mile
delivery operations for partners like Spanish pizza chain
Telepizza.
    The tests should begin in 2023, initially with safety
drivers on board. If successful, the service will be rolled out
to other parts of Goggo's network in Europe. 
    Goggo will also use Oxbotica's fleet management system to
optimise the operational performance of its autonomous vehicles
(AVs), the companies said. 
    Middle-mile delivery routes, where vehicles run on fixed
routes between distribution centres, are seen as easier to
automate than last-mile deliveries to individual consumers'
homes.
    Developing fully self-driving vehicles that can go
everywhere has proven harder and more expensive than expected,
but investors are continuing to fund startups that target
simpler self-driving vehicle solutions far removed from
pedestrians and other vehicles operated by unpredictable humans.
     Oxbotica said in January it had raised $140 million from
investors to speed the deployment of AVs in areas including
heavy industry, ports and airports.
   
    

 (Reporting by Nick Carey, editing by Ed Osmond)
 ((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))