Four-Wheeled Robots, Autonomous Aircraft Delivering Nearly 150 Packages of Food to East Arlington Homes Through Innovative Research

By Susan Schrock, Office of Communications

Posted on September 11, 2024, September 11, 2024

Throughout this week, nearly 150 homes in east Arlington and near The University of Texas at Arlington will receive scheduled at-home grocery deliveries with the help of small electric ground and air robots.

The deliveries, which are boxes of nonperishable pantry items donated by the Tarrant Area Food Bank, are being made to participating households as part of the City of Arlington’s innovative Multimodal Delivery pilot program. This research, designed to test the efficiency and scalability of using autonomous, electric delivery vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while serving residents in need, is funded with the help of a $780,182 U.S. Department of Energy grant.

“Our focus here is on food delivery to residents who may have mobility challenges or low income and, for whatever reason, can’t get out and get groceries on their own,” said Ann Foss, City of Arlington Transportation Department planning and program manager. “Because we like to innovate in Arlington by testing new technologies and helping our residents learn about them, we are using an electric ground robot that will deliver the packages to people’s homes. We are also using electric, autonomous aircraft that are flying in City parks only to help us deliver the packages from a central hub.”

Arlington is partnering with Tarrant Area Food Bank, the University of Texas at Arlington, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition, Airspace Link, Aerialoop, and Clevon. The goal of this two-year study is to test and evaluate the use of no-emission or low-emission uncrewed aircraft and four-wheeled robots that are smaller than cars to deliver essential food items to individuals who are mobility challenged, historically disadvantaged, or lack a reliable means of transportation.

“Tarrant Area Food Bank distributes one million nutritious meals every single week,” said Stephen Raeside, the nonprofit’s chief external affairs officer. “That really strains our capacity. What really thrills us so much about this project is the opportunity to investigate the future and see how we can improve our capacity with novel technology while also being kind to the environment.”

This project’s target delivery area includes a portion of UTA and neighborhoods roughly bound by Abram Street to the north, State Highway 360 to the east, Pioneer Parkway to the south and Collins Street to the west. The deliveries are being made by Aerialoop’s ALT6-4 VTOL aircraft, a 6-foot-long, battery-powered aircraft that can carry nearly nine pounds, and Clevon’s autonomous delivery robot, CLEVON 1, equipped with a spacious cargo bay that clients can unlock with a code to access their delivery.

A second delivery demonstration to another 150 households is planned in spring 2025, Foss said.

“We are gathering data from the operational perspective and from the participants we are serving. We are really trying to understand what is working and what are remaining opportunities or challenges. We will analyze all the data over the next few months and improve on what we are doing right now with the lessons we’ve learned,” Foss said.

Airspace Link’s AirHub® Portal is being used to provide the data and digital infrastructure needed for planning, decision-making, and operations, including detailed ground and air analysis that is helping the delivery vehicle operators determine take-off, landing, and delivery routes.

“By taking large gas or diesel delivery trucks off the road and using these smaller electric vehicles, hopefully the project will show improvements in energy use, air quality and congestion,” said Foss.

Lessons learned from this project in Arlington will be shared widely to help other communities seeking similar benefits.