Copters on the roof, digital cargo bay: Daimler’s future van
Mercedes-Benz has introduced not only a new city transporter (more of that later) but a technology initiative named adVANce. The goal: getting the most possible productivity out of digital transport models. The scope of the initiative covers the development of commercial cars – vehicles that leverage digital communications, automation and robotics at the utmost level.
The company plans to invest about €500 million (about $550 million) over a time span of five years to drive development in the abovementioned technology fields. The activities are bundles in the new business unit Future Transport Systems that starts with a headcount of 200, with teams at the Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart (Germany) as well as in Berlin and in the Silicon Valley. As part of the development, Mercedes-Benz Vans will transform its business model from a car manufacturer to a transport technology services provider. “To meet the requirements of the dramatic change in our industry, we expand our business focus significantly beyond selling products and entering new markets”, said Volker Mornhinweg, Mercedes-Benz Vans general manager. Mornhinweg’s goal is developing digital solutions for the entire transport value chain including the digital business environment of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ customers.
Basically, this means that the vehicle as well as the goods to be transported become integral part of the Internet of Things. How such a solution can look like demonstrates the Van study introduced at Daimler’s announcement.
The vehicle has an electric propulsion system. So far this is not a surprise – everything else would. With its 75 kW powertrain, the vehicle has a driving range somewhere between 80 km to 200 km, depending greatly on the operation conditions. This range does not exactly appear overwhelming at first sight, but it indicates the mission profile as an urban transporter. In this, the van study resembles the electric urban truck recently introduced by sister operation Mercedes Benz Trucks . As the first van worldwide it connects all persons and institutions involved into the transport process from the goods distribution center to the recipient. The cargo hold is automatized: Following the idea of the sea container, MB Vans has developed a system that pre-bundles the pieces and parcels to the delivered during a ride. At the recipient’s premises the system indicates the exact location of the goods in the cargo compartment and thus eases unloading. With such moves, operators of the van could achieve 50% higher productivity in the “last mile”, the transport section between the goods distribution center and the customer.
To further drive the automation, MB Vans even considers the use of drones. The vehicle study includes two quadrocopers that stationed on the transporter’s roof – once the vehicle has arrived in the neighborhood of the recipient, the copters carry the goods to their final destination. To secure the expertise necessary to develop and integrated these flying objects, MB Vans announced it has done a “strategic investment” into Matternet, a US-based manufacturer of automated drones.