Augmented Reality could transform last-mile logistics

Abstract

The rapid growth of e-commerce is challenging parcel delivery companies to meet the demand while keeping their costs low. While drivers have to meet unrealistic targets, the companies deal with a high staff turnover percentage for the last-mile. Consequently, with every turnover, the critical experience for the last-mile is lost. In this paper, we introduce an augmented-reality based system that keeps track of events during the parcel handling process for last-mile logistics. The system can register, track parcels inside the truck to the driver and project the location in augmented form. The system, which we have integrated into a mobile application, potentially reduces processing times and accelerates the training for new drivers. We discuss first-hand observations and propose further research areas. Field-tests are currently under development to verify whether the system can operate in a real-life environment.