by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Addressing the environmental and infrastructure challenges caused by the growth in e-commerce deliveries, Magway has won co-funding support from Innovate UK via its Emerging and Enabling Technologies competition. Magway is a “delivery utility”, delivering parcels between distribution centers and consolidation centers via underground pipelines similar to those used by water, gas and electricity companies.
Alphabet’s plan for a new waterfront city in Toronto includes a standard smart container for last-mile logistics. Sidewalk Labs unveiled its Master Innovation and Development Plan to transform the site into the most innovative district in the world, with a network of sensors generating data on how people, goods, and vehicles move throughout the new community.
Some Western European countries are getting serious about transporting consumer goods through automated subterranean networks. They are introducing a fifth transport mode next to road, rail, air, and water.