Swiss logistics firm Planzer has teamed up with autonomous technology start-up LOXO to launch a “groundbreaking” new pilot project in Bern, which will see a self-driving vehicle transport parcels around the city for sustainable and efficient last mile deliveries.
The pilot project has been launched ahead of the implementation of Switzerland’s new Automated Vehicles Act, which is expected to take effect in early 2025. The new law will mean that Level 4 autonomy, where there is no driver inside the vehicle, will become legal in Switzerland.
According to Planzer and LOXO, this legal change will open new possibilities for freight mobility and last-mile delivery in cities.
The pilot project
The two-year pilot project in Bern, called the Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO, aims to transform last-mile delivery through autonomous technology. The collaboration merges Planzer’s logistics expertise with LOXO’s autonomous driving innovation.
During the pilot, “Mathilde” – a Volkswagen ID Buzz cargo van, which has been equipped with LOXO’s Digital Driver software and two interchangeable box chassis, will navigate Bern’s streets without a human driver.
Mathilde will run multiple times a day from Planzer’s railway centre, delivering packages to 14 strategically located micro-hubs across a 67km network. From these hubs, the box chassis containing the packages will then be transferred to smaller electric vehicles for final delivery by Planzer Paket staff.
If successful, Planzer and LOXO plan to expand the project to include eight swap boxes and roll out to other Swiss cities.
“A new business model”
“The uniqueness of this project lies in the fact that it will have a direct impact on society,” said Nils Planzer, CEO and chairman of Planzer. “We didn’t just want to integrate automated technology into existing systems, we wanted to develop a completely new concept and a new business model.”
Amin Amini, LOXO’s CEO, added: “This collaboration represents a significant step for the autonomous driving industry and the European continent. For the very first time, a commercial vehicle, piloted by the LOXO Digital Driver software, navigates the streets of a European capital with the aim of obtaining full L4 autonomy.”
