DC Velocity - November 2015

4 DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2015 www.dcvelocity.com inbound

Couriers everywhere struggle with the challenges of last-mile delivery, especially in urban areas. Now, an Israeli industrial designer has come up with a solution that strikes a balance between size, speed, and precision—“unicycle” delivery drones.

The Transwheel Delivery Drone, an autonomous self-balancing sin-gle-wheeled robot, would be a grounded alternative to the high-wire concept of aerial courier drones, says inventor Kobi Shikar.

Instead of dropping packages from above, a sensor-packed motorized unit would hold a package on its “head” via retractable robotic arms while it steered its way to its destination. The battery-powered drone would navigate by GPS signals while avoiding obstacles and negotiating traffic with a suite of on-board cameras. Upon arrival, it would use an Internet-connected camera to tap into social media sites, identify the recipient through facial recognition, and deliver the parcel.

Designed for a graduate project at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, the Transwheel delivery robot is still in the concept stage. But as Shikar seeks financial backers, he says the idea of an automated ground parcel delivery vehicle is more likely to pass regulatory scrutiny than flying drones encroaching on commercial airspace.

To see a concept video of the drones in action, go to www.youtube. com/watch?v=qE9kwdBhfRA.

Even in our digital age, there’s nothing like face-to-face interaction when it comes to finding the right logistics partners— particularly for complex multimodal moves. The Cargo Logistics America (CLA) expo and conference will give attendees an opportunity to do just that. The event, which takes place Dec. 2 and 3 at the San Diego Convention Center, aims to connect freight owners with freight movers— fostering multimodal synergy between diverse players in import, export, and domestic supply chains.

Featuring over 150 exhibitors, the exposition floor will showcase products, services, technologies, and equipment designed to optimize an entire supply chain.

The conference will feature keynote addresses by Drew Greenblatt, president and owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC; Stephen Flowers, president of global freight forwarding at UPS Supply Chain Solutions; and Robert Voltmann, president and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA).

Attendees who want to dig deep into specific topics can choose from seminar tracks on subjects like global trade, port productivity, and issues faced by shippers in the U.S. heartland. The conference also features a distribution logistics summit organized by DC VELOCITY. The summit includes a two-part shipper/ carrier roundtable discussion on controlling transportation/distribution costs and coping with changing regulations and pricing structures; a session on how you can use “future” logistics technologies today; and sessions on the challenges of omnichannel distribution and strategies for navigating changes brought by the omnichannel revolution.

For more information and to register, go to http://cargologisticsamerica.com.

Cargo Logistics America
aims to bring “entire
supply chain under one
roof”

Ocean carriers are always on the lookout for new ways to cut costs and reduce pollution, whether it’s slow steaming, converting from diesel to

CNG, or building an even bigger Supermax containership.

Now, they have a new option for cutting fuel costs with SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces), a slippery hull coating that prevents algae, mussels, and barnacles from attaching to submerged surfaces. If vessels are left untreated, this “marine fouling” creates extra drag on ship hulls that reduces fuel efficiency and adds tens of billions of dollars every year in extra fuel costs and additional CO2 emissions.

Created by SLIPS Technologies Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., the high-tech coating is an alternative to the current generation of copper-based anti-fouling paints, which are on the verge of being banned in many regions because of their toxicity.

The creators are now working with researchers at Harvard University to promote the use of SLIPS materials for marine applications. Their work is being funded by a grant from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).