• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

Ford and Argo AI kick off charitable food delivery pilot in Miami

December 7, 2020   Big Data

When it comes to customer expectations, the pandemic has changed everything

Learn how to accelerate customer service, optimize costs, and improve self-service in a digital-first world.

Register here

In partnership with the Education Fund, a collection of nonprofits working in the U.S. and other countries to improve the quality of education, Ford and Pittsburgh-based autonomous car startup Argo AI say they’ve teamed up to make contactless deliveries in Ford’s Fusion Hybrid self-driving test vehicles. The launch of the pilot, which is taking place in Miami, comes as Ford continues to build out a service for autonomous ride-hailing and goods delivery in Miami-Dade County.

Some experts predict the coronavirus outbreak will hasten the adoption of driverless vehicles for delivery. A study published by CarGurus found that 39% of people don’t plan to use human-driven ride-sharing services post-pandemic for fear of insufficient sanitation. Despite driverless cars’ need for regular disinfection and the public’s misgivings about their general safety, they promise to minimize the risk of spreading disease because they inherently limit driver-rider contact.

Ford says it and Argo will make weekly contactless deliveries of groceries and school supplies furnished by the Education Fund’s Food Forests for Schools program over an eight-week period. These will reach the families of approximately 50 students attending Feinberg Fisher K-8 in Miami Beach and Riverside Elementary School in Little Havana. After the Ford and Argo team collects the bags at each school, the deliveries are made in Ford’s self-driving Ford Fusions with two test specialists.

 Ford and Argo AI kick off charitable food delivery pilot in Miami

As the self-driving cars progress along their route, the two specialists — one behind the wheel and one in the passenger seat — will be monitoring the vehicles and the road ahead, ready to take over if necessary, according to Ford. At each drop-off location, one of the Argo test specialists makes a contactless delivery. Argo says it is working with city and state officials and plans to mandate social distancing, institute regular cleaning, and provide personal protective equipment, as well as HEPA-certified filters, air recirculation devices, and physical barriers inside the vehicle’s cabins.

Ford autonomous vehicle business director Navin Kumar says the pilot will provide an opportunity for Argo to refine its self-driving system. Among other challenges, the cars have to find specific locations to make a delivery, park properly, and ensure the drop-off is made safely. They will also encounter a range of locations, including high-rises, duplexes, and small apartment buildings, some without curbside or driveway access, as well as traffic in densely populated areas and residential neighborhoods.

“With each delivery we complete through this pilot, we gain a deeper understanding about how our self-driving services can help organizations and businesses fulfill delivery orders in a safe, reliable, and trusted manner,” Kumar wrote in a blog post. “This is the first time we’ve integrated the self-driving capabilities from Argo with our customer-facing partnerships. This is giving us meaningful real-world insights into what is required to run an efficient business.”

Based on the success of the pilot, Ford says it will continue to expand and refine its moving goods business with similar pilots in 2021.

 Ford and Argo AI kick off charitable food delivery pilot in Miami

Ford pushed the unveiling of its driverless service from 2021 to 2022 earlier this year, but it’s business as usual at Argo, which has over 1,000 employees and a $ 7.25 billion valuation. Beyond Ford, Argo has close ties with Volkswagen and is testing in cities around the U.S., including Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; and Austin.

Ford is only the latest to repurpose its self-driving fleet for charitable deliveries during the pandemic. Some, like Waymo and Cruise, have received pushback from drivers, who say they’re being forced to work in dangerous conditions. According to the Verge, Waymo drivers were recently told to drive in suffocating ash from wildfires and after COVID-19 infection rates had reached new peaks.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Big Data – VentureBeat

Argo, charitable, Delivery, food, Ford, kick, Miami, Pilot
  • Recent Posts

    • Database version control: Getting started with Flyway
    • Support CRM with New Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile App
    • 6 Strategies for Achieving Your Business Goals in the New Year
    • Researchers propose using the game Overcooked to benchmark collaborative AI systems
    • Oracle Launches Version 21c
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited