January 09, 2020 09:56 AM

Valeo delivers an attention-grabber

Valeo eDeliver4U

The Automotive News mobility team attended CES in Las Vegas this week and was fully immersed in the show's technologies surrounding electrification, autonomous driving, future mobility and more. Some big topics included cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and vehicle customization.

But as most of us make our way back to Detroit, one launch that is unique to note — especially from a Tier 1 supplier navigating its role in the mobility space — was showcased by Valeo.

The French automated and connected driving technologies supplier revealed its eDeliver4U autonomous, electric delivery droid.

At 5.5-feet tall, the boxy droid — powered by an all-electric, 48-volt system — uses perception algorithms, sensors, cameras, radar and lidar to determine its path and navigate terrain.

EDeliver4U goes more than 7 mph and has a range of about 62 miles for delivery of up to 17 meals per trip. According to Valeo, eDeliver4U was developed in partnership with Chinese e-commerce platform company Meituan Dianping.

With the eDeliver4U bot, Valeo joins several other companies — including automakers, Tier 1s and tech teams — that have been developing first- and last-mile autonomous delivery bots to aid with things such as package and food delivery in congested urban environments.

Supplier Continental previously demonstrated a package delivery system that utilizes a robotaxi called CUbE, short for Continental Urban Mobility Experience, which would carry delivery robots and deploy them to handle the last stretch of a delivery logistics chain.

Delivery service FedEx has tested a short-range robot, Roxo, that can travel on sidewalks, along roadsides, on unpaved surfaces and up and down steps.

Tech giant Amazon has been testing a last-mile delivery system called Scout, a small robot that uses camera and sensor data for autonomous route planning and navigation.

Ford Motor Co. launched the initial pilot of its package-carrying, two-legged headless android concept named Digit last year, and Nuro, a self-driving delivery company, has piloted delivery programs through partnerships with Kroger and Domino's. Whether the robots will weather any number of uncertainties about these future technologies is yet to be seen, but Valeo's attracted quite a bit of attention.

— Alexa St. John

CES Podcast #4: Elaine Chao, Showstoppers and thermal cameras

In this episode:
-U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao discusses the recently unveiled “AV 4.0” guidance.
-Flir’s Frank Pennisi on the company’s thermal cameras used for both driver-assistance and autonomous driving systems.
-Highlights from the Showstoppers and Digital Experience! events at CES.

Listen to the Podcast >

ALEXA ST. JOHN

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao speaks at CES in Las Vegas.

What you need to know

Trump administration rolls out plan to support AVs Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao rolled out the Trump administration's plan to support the advancement of self-driving vehicles and AV technology Wednesday. The new guidance, dubbed AV 4.0 — which is meant to unify efforts across 38 U.S. agencies working on new vehicle technology and policies — was unveiled at CES during Chao's keynote speech. "Realizing the vast potential of AVs will require collaboration and information sharing among industry partners, state and local governments, academia, nonprofits, standards development organizations and, of course, the 38 different federal government agencies, independent commissions [and] departments," Chao said.

Consumers hesitant about spending on AV, EV technology, survey shows Consumers around the world are unsure about spending their money on autonomous and electric features, a survey released at CES by global consulting firm Deloitte showed. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. respondents to the 2020 Global Automotive Consumer Study said they are unwilling to pay more than $500 for autonomous features. However, the study said there is some evidence consumers have become more willing, over the last five years, to pay "something" more for autonomous and alternative engine technologies, with increases from 1 to 9 percentage points in every country surveyed from 2017 to 2020.