Instead of this vehicle having to deal with unloading dozens of small packages at each destination. Just a way to optimize delivery further.
> sound like a miserable thing to unleash on the streets, even at night
It's about finding the right balance. At night streets are mostly empty (e.g. 2-5am). What we have now is not optimized at all - hundreds of Amazon trucks moving through the city during the day.
If you are going to do smaller containers, what makes sense is one that fits a standard pallet. Then it can used for deliveries between businesses. Probably don't need a box but smart dolly. Then can use existing trucks and vans.
Finally, why automate it? The delivery services could send a van with a large box containing packages. Most packages are small so a tote would work. I'm sort of surprised they don't do this already,
It wouldn't make as much sense to batch deliver to single-family houses, but apartments—and in some cases gated communities—could process a dropped-off container every morning.
When I look into what goes into managing an apartment building, I notice that there are many similar jobs they do regularly. E.g. taking out large containers with trash at a specific time. This could be a similar process: pick up a container, move it to Luxer One, and plug it into the system. With further Luxer One optimization, it would be possible to automate the task of scanning and notifying tenants. So the added job for humans would be just to wheel in the container, plug it into Luxer One and then take the empty container out before the next delivery.
> How many places get enough packages to need a box?
My guess is all apartment buildings (perhaps 50+ apartments).
> Finally, why automate it? The delivery services could send a van with a large box containing packages
Because we are already on this path. Why add even more congestion during the day to accommodate the rapidly expanding delivery industry, when we could batch deliver at night? I agree, that MVP could rely on human-driven vans, but ideally that would also be automated.