Abstract
Civil infrastructure systems (e.g. transportation, power and buildings) are the backbone of our society, providing the basic public services needed by the communities they serve, and playing a critical role in the distribution of material goods, services, energy and people. Due to their public-serving nature, long-term design horizon and predominantly public ownership, we have been learning to engineer these systems to be long-lasting and resilient to many natural events. However, recent changes in both the natural hazards and the demand patterns (the human needs and behaviors) that they are subject to, require that we rethink our strategies to engineer these systems. Requirements around resource allocation, especially, such as last-mile food delivery and dispatching accessible mobility services have completely altered the way we operate and manage civil infrastructure systems and corresponding services.
Description
Autonomous food delivery will make cities more livable and equitable Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can improve access to nutritious foods and eliminate food deserts. We will develop food delivery demand model(s) and use systems transportation modeling approaches to quantify how autonomous food delivery could affect peak hour traffic operations, and determine delivery alternatives that are most sustainable. Develop a relationship with Giant Eagle (local grocery store) and EasyMile (company designing automated food delivery vehicles).
Timeline
July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022
Strategic Description / RD&T
Deployment Plan
We are proposing a radical change to the way that people source and acquire their food. Given the magnitude of the food delivery market, and the importance of food to everyone, there is a tremendous opportunity for innovation in food delivery. This is bolstered by the significant number of new businesses providing food delivery, and the rapid adoption of food delivery by established retailers (e.g. Walmart, Target). It also means that there will be many potential industry partners in this space, several of which we have already engaged (Giant Eagle, Pittsburgh Food Bank, 412 Food Rescue, EasyMile). This innovation needs to be done is a way that is both sustainable and equitable. We will consider opportunities for patentable, licensable technologies that can result for our analysis, e.g. ML tools to predict delivery demand by community or zip code, and will assess opportunities for startups that can provide this service to communities, local governments, and industries looking to use AVs for food delivery.
Expected Outcomes/Impacts
This project will assist society in moving towards equitable and sustainable automated food delivery systems. Following COVID there has been a surge in the number of people using online food delivery services in lieu of going to the grocery store. Autonomous vehicles are one method of meeting the increase in food delivery demand, but currently there is no method for ensuring this is done sustainability and equitably (relative to grocery shopping trips). Develop a tool that estimates the congestion and energy implications of replacing household grocery trips with autonomous grocery delivery services. Estimate number of household grocery trips and develop a framework for replacing these trips with autonomous food delivery. Perform scenario and sensitivity analysis for autonomous food delivery services.
Expected Outputs
TRID
Individuals Involved
| Email |
Name |
Affiliation |
Role |
Position |
| mbartman@cmu.edu |
Bartman, Matthew |
Carnegie Mellon School of Engineering |
Other |
Other |
| sbenicky@andrew.cmu.edu |
Benicky, Sheryl |
CIT ERA |
Other |
Other |
| marioberges@cmu.edu |
Berges, Mario |
CEE |
Other |
Faculty - Tenured |
| cdharper@andrew.cmu.edu |
Harper, Corey |
Carnegie Mellon University |
Other |
Other |
| glowry@andrew.cmu.edu |
Lowry, Greg |
CEE |
Co-PI |
Faculty - Tenured |
| dnock@andrew.cmu.edu |
Nock, Destenie |
Heinz Foundation Block Center Grant |
PI |
Other |
Budget
Amount of UTC Funds Awarded
$53452.00
Total Project Budget (from all funding sources)
$106905.00
Documents
| Type |
Name |
Uploaded |
| Presentation |
UTC_Research_Nock_et_al_2021.pptx |
Sept. 29, 2021, 10:59 a.m. |
| Data Management Plan |
Data_Management_Plan_4SkUwzo.pdf |
March 17, 2021, 8:59 a.m. |
| Presentation |
Autonomous Food Delivery Impacts on Traffic and Sustainability |
Sept. 29, 2021, 10:59 a.m. |
| Progress Report |
364_Progress_Report_2021-09-30 |
Sept. 29, 2021, 11 a.m. |
| Presentation |
Autonomous Food Delivery Impacts on Traffic and Sustainability |
March 28, 2022, 7 p.m. |
| Presentation |
COVID Impacts on Transportation: Buses and Food Delivery |
March 28, 2022, 7 p.m. |
| Progress Report |
364_Progress_Report_2022-03-30 |
March 28, 2022, 7:01 p.m. |
| Final Report |
364_-_Final_Report.pdf |
July 29, 2022, 7:17 a.m. |
| Progress Report |
364_Progress_Report_2022-09-30 |
Sept. 27, 2022, 9:37 a.m. |
Match Sources
No match sources!
Partners
| Name |
Type |
| Easy Mile |
Deployment Partner Deployment Partner |
| Giant Eagle |
Deployment Partner Deployment Partner |
| Puget Sound Regional Council |
Deployment Partner Deployment Partner |
