Comparison of in-sight and handheld navigation devices toward supporting industry 4.0 supply chains: First and last mile deliveries at the human level

Last (and First) mile deliveries are an increasingly important and costly component of supply chains especially those that require transport within city centres. With reduction in anticipated manufacturing and delivery timescales, logistics personnel are expected to identify the correct location (accurately) and supply the goods in appropriate condition (safe delivery). Moving towards more environmentally sustainable supply chains, the last/first mile of deliveries may be completed by a cyclist courier which could result in significant reductions in congestion and emissions in cities. In addition, the last metres of an increasing number of deliveries are completed on foot i.e. as a pedestrian. Although research into new technologies to support enhanced navigation capabilities is ongoing, the focus to date has been on technical implementations with limited studies addressing how information is perceived and actioned by a human courier. In the research reported in this paper a comparison study has been conducted with 24 participants evaluating two examples of state-of-the-art navigation aids to support accurate (right time and place) and safe (right condition) navigation. Participants completed 4 navigation tasks, 2 whilst cycling and 2 whilst walking. The navigation devices under investigation were a handheld display presenting a map and instructions and an in-sight monocular display presenting text and arrow instructions. Navigation was conducted in a real-world environment in which eye movements and device interaction were recorded using Tobii-Pro 2 eye tracking glasses. The results indicate that the handheld device provided better support for accurate navigation (right time and place), with longer but less frequent gaze interactions and higher perceived usability. The in-sight display supported improved situation awareness with a greater number of hazards acknowledged. The benefits and drawbacks of each device and use of visual navigation support tools are discussed

Land consumption of delivery robots and bicycle couriers for on‐demand meal delivery using gps data and simulations based on the time‐area concept

Regulating the curbside usage of delivery vehicles and ride‐hailing services as well as micromobility has been a challenge in the last years, a challenge which might worsen with the increase of autonomous vehicles. The contribution of the research outlined in this paper is an evaluation method of the land use of on‐demand meal delivery services such as Deliveroo and UberEats. It evaluates the effect parking policies, operating strategy changes, and scheduling options have on the land consumption of bicycle couriers and sidewalk automated delivery robots (SADRs). Various operating strategies (i.e., shared fleets and fleets operated by restaurants), parking policies (i.e., parking at the restaurant, parking at the customer or no parking) and scheduling options (i.e., one meal per vehicle, multiple meals per vehicle) are simulated and applied to New York City (NYC). Additionally, the time‐area requirements of on‐demand meal delivery services are calculated based on GPS traces of Deliveroo and UberEats riders in two UK cities. The simulation in the paper shows that SADRs can reduce the time‐area requirements by half compared with bicycle couriers. The effect of operating strategy changes and forbidding vehicles to park at the customer’s home is small. Delivering multiple meals in one tour halves the time‐area requirements. The time‐area requirements based on GPS traces is around 300 m2∙min per order. The study allows policymakers to learn more about the land use of on‐demand meal delivery services and how these can be influenced. Hence, they can adjust their policy strategies to ensure that on‐demand meal delivery services are provided in a way that they use land effectively, reduce external costs, improve sustainability and benefit everyone

Sensitivity analysis of emission models of parcel lockers vs. home delivery based on HBEFA

Global concerns about the environmental effects (e.g., pollution, land use, noise) of last-mile deliveries are increasing. Parcel lockers are seen as an option to reduce these external effects of last-mile deliveries. The contributions of this paper are threefold: firstly, the research studies simulating the emissions caused by parcel delivery to lockers are summarized. Secondly, a demand model for parcel deliveries in New York City (NYC) is created for 365 days and delivery trips to lockers and homes are optimized for 20 “real-world” scenarios. Thirdly, using the emission factors included in the HandBook Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA) database, the maximum percentage of customers who could pick up a parcel by car from parcel lockers that would result in fewer total emissions (driving customers + walking customers) than if home deliveries were adopted is calculated for various pollutants and scenario assumptions (i.e., street types, temperature, parking duration, level of service and vehicle drivetrain). This paper highlights how small changes in the calibration can significantly change the results and therefore using average values for emission factors or only considering one pollutant like most studies may not be appropriate

Supplementary files for 'Comparison of in-sight and handheld navigation devices toward supporting industry 4.0 supply chains: First and last mile deliveries at the human level'

Supplementary files for 'Comparison of in-sight and handheld navigation devices toward supporting industry 4.0 supply chains: First and last mile deliveries at the human level'Abstract:Last (and First) mile deliveries are an increasingly important and costly component of supply chains especially those that require transport within city centres. With reduction in anticipated manufacturing and delivery timescales, logistics personnel are expected to identify the correct location (accurately) and supply the goods in appropriate condition (safe delivery). Moving towards more environmentally sustainable supply chains, the last/first mile of deliveries may be completed by a cyclist courier which could result in significant reductions in congestion and emissions in cities. In addition, the last metres of an increasing number of deliveries are completed on foot i.e. as a pedestrian. Although research into new technologies to support enhanced navigation capabilities is ongoing, the focus to date has been on technical implementations with limited studies addressing how information is perceived and actioned by a human courier. In the research reported in this paper a comparison study has been conducted with 24 participants evaluating two examples of state-of-the-art navigation aids to support accurate (right time and place) and safe (right condition) navigation. Participants completed 4 navigation tasks, 2 whilst cycling and 2 whilst walking. The navigation devices under investigation were a handheld display presenting a map and instructions and an in-sight monocular display presenting text and arrow instructions. Navigation was conducted in a real-world environment in which eye movements and device interaction were recorded using Tobii-Pro 2 eye tracking glasses. The results indicate that the handheld device provided better support for accurate navigation (right time and place), with longer but less frequent gaze interactions and higher perceived usability. The in-sight display supported improved situation awareness with a greater number of hazards acknowledged. The benefits and drawbacks of each device and use of visual navigation support tools are discussed.</div