Raphael Thys
Swiss tech start-up LOXO unveiled its first autonomous vehicle for last-mile delivery.
The vehicle is set to grace the roads of Switzerland in spring 2023, making it the first-ever commercial autonomous vehicle in the last-mile delivery segment in all of Europe.
LOXO also intends to expand its operation to Germany and Great Britain.
As opposed to the technological and manufacturing focuses of most autonomous vehicle developers, LOXO has taken a rather different approach. LOXO is coupling its autonomous vehicle with services and is calling it Autonomous Delivery as a Service (ADaaS).
This will provide a wider array of applications for the overall autonomous ecosystem of their vehicles. On one hand, it can be used for deliveries from the supplier to the end consumer or business customer, on the other, it is suitable for hub-to-hub transports.
The overall product consists of three components:
- The vehicle incl. maintenance and servicing
- A software service package and
- The “customer success package”, which includes the development of customer-specific use cases
“Thanks to electric propulsion, optimal charging capacity and the autonomous, unmanned driving mode, LOXO increases the efficiency and flexibility of home deliveries. In addition, the carbon footprint is reduced through the principle of shared mobility”, said Amin Amini, co-founder and CEO of LOXO.
Lara Amini-Rentsch, co-founder and business lead said, “LOXO enables scalable, time-independent and high-margin deliveries. Buyers can decide for themselves when they want to receive their order while paying less. Retailers, in turn, can increase their margins. Accordingly, we are convinced that LOXO will revolutionise e-commerce and become the standard for last mile delivery.”
“LOXO’s USPs include its optimised cargo volume for the European market and its full integration into the customer’s IT. It is also the world’s first vehicle without rotating sensors”, said Claudio Panizza, CTO.
“Instead, the LOXO vehicle is equipped with a unique combination of radar, LIDAR, sonar, camera, and powerful algorithm. As a result, it detects people and objects in a 360-degree field of view and guarantees maximum safety,” he added.