Udelv Presents Electric, Autonomous Delivery Vehicle
Udelv, a Redwood City-based startup that develops autonomous delivery vehicles and is part of Intel, unveiled its new uPod electric and autonomous delivery vehicle in light of CES 2022. It’s a vehicle without a driver’s cab that’s built on an electric skateboard platform and uses Mobileye technology to enable autonomous driving. Included are cameras, LiDARs and radars, which should then also allow the vehicles to autonomously drive to multiple destinations and make deliveries.
The special feature of the vehicle, however, is the freely configurable honeycomb system for the goods that the vehicle transports. This allows the empty space to be reduced and the vehicle to be optimized for the load, which is more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly. The paneling above the individual compartments is designed to function like a shutter in a camera, allowing only the compartment in question to be opened and accessed when a delivery is made.
The vehicle can carry up to 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of cargo and make up to 80 delivery points per trip. By 2028, the company aims to have 50,000 uPods in use for delivery services. The first vehicles are expected to be in commercial use as early as 2023.
This article was also published in German.
