A feasibility study on adoption of autonomous vans for relief distribution in rural India

Abstract

In the wake of the COVID-19 global health emergency, governments in different countries of the world have restricted the movement of people and goods intra-country or even intrastate to reduce the spread of infections. Developing countries like India face an acute shortage of distribution centers for disaster management and recovery. Residents in semi-urban and rural areas in India continue to face tremendous scarcity of daily basic supplies and food grains. The safety concern stemming from the delivery options for essential goods from one point to another has been under serious concern considering the widespread of the coronavirus in India. The purpose of this study is to understand the shortcomings, needs and requirements of existing food and logistics supply in disaster scenarios by NGOs and local government and then perform a gap analysis to propose Connected Refrigerated Driverless Vans (CRDVs). The adoption of driverless car technology (DCT) is still a long-term effort, and this research aims to delve into the ways in which the proposed CRDV framework can be adopted in relief and supply distribution in rural India.