Mercedes has teamed up with drone tech company Matternet to create a concept car they call the Vision Van, which could change the way small packages are delivered to homes.
The Mercedes Vision Van is a large, electrically powered commercial vehicle with minimalist, futuristic styling. This concept not only hints at what the next Mercedes Sprinter van could look like, but also gives an interesting insight into how package deliveries could be done in the future.
Package delivery drones on top to provide support
This van's most significant feature is the rooftop, which serves as a launch and landing pad for two Matternet M2 drones.
These drones, which work autonomously, can pick up and carry packages which weigh up to 4.4 pounds (or about 2kg). They can transport packages across 12 miles of sky on a single battery charge. The drones are designed to be able to reload their payload and swap out batteries without human input.
The Mercedes Vision Van has on-board, cloud-based systems which allow the drones to automatically load up items and batteries contained in the van while they are stationed on its rooftop. Software and robotic shelving systems within the van help the drones to acquire the correct packages and other items.
Packaged items carried by the drones are kept in a hard-shelled protection case, which can also transmit data about the package’s destination and its contents. With the aid of this data, a customer who orders a package via a Vision Van and its drones could be notified when exactly the package has arrived.
This van’s ability to deploy drones to a customer’s home could come in handy particularly if the final destination is not accessible due to heavy traffic or a lack of safe roads. Furthermore, the drones could also be used to fly a package from a distribution centre or warehouse before placing it in a vehicle like the Vision Van which could drive to the customer.
Though the Vision Van is just a concept for now, Mercedes has invested an undisclosed amount into Matternet, indicating that the companies could collaborate again for future Mercedes commercial vehicles.