Special Delivery

How might autonomous driving tech be shaped to support mundane and “non-viable” uses?

As with BoatSense, there are everyday interactions that emerging tech could support — but the systems of value required mean access is unevenly distributed. All this talk about AI and the fuss about autonomous vehicles should trickle down to our little community sooner rather than later.

The community is a small island near Stockholm. The water around it, and the deliberate lack of tarmac, create logistical wrinkles: deliveries don’t make it across. Mainland postboxes work for smaller parcels, but it’s still a trip just to check whether there’s anything waiting.

To avoid wading knee-deep into basics I leaned on modular tech. DonkeyCar got a 1/10 scale RC car driving autonomously, quickly and cheaply. The platform will be a used Permobil C300 — the mechanical and control work is largely done, and it’s cheaper than purpose-built robotics rigs.

Getting it all running let me dip my toes without diving into ROS. ROS is still the plan; it’s the tested software for this area.

Next: get a control interface for the Permobil powerchair working with the local roboticists’ club, mount sensors and a cargo area, build my own GPS-RTK base station for centimetre-accurate positioning, and figure out a thermal camera for spotting and avoiding people. And dig into ROS.