Likely to be equipped with a last-mile service system for faster delivery

KT Economic and Management Research Institute (Digieco) released a report on the 13th titled "Analysis of Amazon's Direction of Development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution" (Cha Won-yong, Representative of ASPAC Future Technology Management Research Institute). According to the report, Amazon appears to be focusing on developing Hyperloop logistics delivery services using autonomous trucks, robots, and drones.

The 'convergence business model of smart data, AI, autonomous vehicles, robots, and drones' led by Amazon ultimately aims to form a Hyperloop dedicated to logistics transport.

When analyzing Google’s autonomous vehicle test road data, safety cannot yet be guaranteed and the level of autonomous driving is still only 61% to 80%, making immediate realization difficult. However, we believe that dedicated roads for logistics transport are more likely to be realized sooner.

Amazon's 'Convergence Business Model of Smart Data, AI, Autonomous Vehicles, Robots, and Drones'

The advantage of autonomous trucks using dedicated autonomous truck lanes is that time and space constraints are reduced, enabling rapid logistics delivery.

Amazon has already laid the groundwork for autonomous trucks. Amazon released a video on YouTube showcasing "autonomous vehicle technologies applied to its unmanned store, Amazon Go." In addition, we are currently developing mapping technology, machine learning and deep learning software, sensor technologies, and sensor fusion algorithms.

Amazon registered a patent titled "Lane Assignment for Autonomous Vehicles" on January 17. This patent describes a method for autonomous trucks to coordinate lanes with one another on the road. A road management system configures lanes and determines directions to help autonomous trucks enter specific lanes. Autonomous trucks can facilitate traffic flow by forming efficient traffic or transport networks, thereby enabling faster delivery.


▲ Inside an Amazon warehouse where drones are actually being used

Amazon registered a patent in December 2015 titled "Inventory Management Efficiency Using Ground and Aerial Drones." Amazon is specializing its ground and aerial drones in parcel delivery and inbound/outbound inventory management. In particular, Kiva is a co-bot capable of collaborating with humans.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently being deployed for inventory management. One type is a ground-based AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) responsible for receiving goods into the internal workshop; this vehicle is equipped with a driving mechanism that allows it to move along designated paths. Another type is an aerial-assisted vehicle (AAV) responsible for shipping goods out. Both ground and aerial UAVs are controlled remotely. Equipped with sensors such as cameras, these UAVs monitor the workshop floor to locate products or containers and activate appropriate mechanisms to ensure safety during receiving and shipping.

According to a Business Insider report dated June 15, 2016, Amazon's Kiva robots are actually showing a reduction of about 20% in operating costs. This translates to cost savings of approximately $22 million per logistics center. Currently, Kiva robots are being used in only 13 logistics centers, but it is estimated that an additional $800 million in cost savings could be achieved if the robots are also utilized in the remaining 107 logistics centers.

Amazon's Kiva robots actually reduce operating costs by about 20%... 30,000 robots deployed in the field

Subsequently, according to the Seattle Times on October 29, 2016, Amazon announced that 45,000 Kiva robots had been deployed in 20 of its approximately 120 logistics centers worldwide, with 30,000 robots in the field. Given this trend, it appears that Kiva will continue to be widely used in the future.

On April 5, 2016, Amazon registered a patent with the U.S. Patent Office for a sky logistics center and drone utilization, a delivery and transportation service for a sky station, shuttle, and drone modeled after the International Space Station.

This is a patent that exactly imitates the space shuttle, which carries new items or replacement astronauts up to the International Space Station and carries broken items or returning astronauts down.

Currently, drones are unsuitable for long-distance deliveries exceeding 30 minutes due to limitations in battery life. The round-trip distance for the recently launched drone delivery service is limited to 10 miles. Amazon’s new idea is to overcome these limitations by floating a logistics center in the air, similar to the International Space Station. The concept involves deploying an airship loaded with goods expected to experience a surge in demand over a specific area, connecting it to a ground control system to maintain a constant delivery standby system, and then delivering the goods to their destination via drone once an order is received. Because drones descend from high-altitude airships, they require much less power than when taking off from the ground, and may not require any power at all.

In the report, CEO Cha Won-yong predicts, "Amazon has been building data points regarding distribution networks, customer behavior, and experience for 20 years. With more than 12 data centers, it is in a favorable position to expand systems and apps, and with 120 warehouses worldwide as a decentralized distribution network system, it is an ideal system capable of rapidly connecting the central logistics system with regional logistics centers." He adds, "Therefore, it has established a last-mile service system by deploying autonomous trucks, robots, and drones. Within the next 2 to 5 years, Amazon will demonstrate the true Fourth Industrial Revolution."