KAUST Smart, the digital experience and innovation group of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia is carrying out a series of on-campus autonomous delivery pilot programmes in conjunction with The National Digital Transformation Unit (NDU) and commercial partners.
Starting in October, KAUST Smart has conducted a last mile logistics delivery trial in partnership with the NDU, Saudi logistics service Alshrouq Express and Hong Kong-based AI and robotics firm Teksbotics. With a goal of developing a a cost-effective autonomous delivery vehicle for the last mile delivery for eCommerce orders, the project has already built the 'UNO Commuter', a purpose-built autonomous delivery vehicle.
Equipped with mechanical lidars, semi solid-state lidars, a camera, DGPS and an onboard driving control unit, the UNO Commuter provides daily last-mile delivery services from the KAUST’s campus mailroom to the KAUST Island Residence Area.
Since Alshrouq Express is a delivery partner for both Amazon and Noon, KAUST residents have their ecommerce orders delivered autonomously. Residents can interact with the vehicle via SMS and a touchscreen user interface to take delivery of their packages.
KAUST and NDU recently signed an agreement to create joint projects in digital transformation that contribute to realising Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 strategy. KAUST's campus provides a living lab for researchers and developers to test advanced technologies and concepts before trialing them in other environments off-campus.
KAUST Smart is also testing drone logistics delivery solutions within the campus.
Find out more:
Visit the KAUST Smart website.
Watch the KAUST Smart delivery trial video.