Goggo Network and Oxbotica team to bring autonomous deliveries to Europe

As part of a vision to drive the future of autonomous mobility and logistics in Europe, Goggo Network, a provider of autonomous vehicles in last- and middle-mile logistics, is joining forces with autonomous vehicle software developer Oxbotica to introduce the latter’s autonomous driving system into Goggo’s delivery operations in its key industries, including consumer packaged goods, shipping, groceries and food delivery.

Putting the partnership into context, the partners said it came at a time of high fuel costs and a shortage of drivers across Europe, but ever-increasing demand for services as online shopping skyrockets. They noted that, across Europe, the driver shortage was expected to triple by 2026, with the total topping two million. Goggo and Oxbotica believe their collaboration will help tackle these challenges and address the urgent need to move goods safely and efficiently.

Oxbotica’s autonomous driving software is designed to support driving both on and off road, in various weather conditions, low light and darkness, and able to adapt to varying locations such as local roads or site routes. It uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately sense and predict changes to the environment the vehicle is in, while learning from previous journeys, which is key to continually improving the safety and efficiency of the technology.

In addition to self-driving software, the partnership will see Goggo use Oxbotica’s fleet management system to safely and effectively operate its fleet of autonomous vehicles, and optimise operational performance. Goggo will also deploy Oxbotica MetaDriver – a suite of tools that uses generative AI and machine learning to validate, verify and ensure the safety of autonomous vehicles in a virtual environment. The solution automatically generates a vast bank of scenarios, used to test and refine autonomous vehicle operations and behaviours without ever needing to physically drive in them, which will accelerate the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles in Goggo’s network.

The new solutions will be deployed on-road, as part of Goggo’s electric vehicle (EV) network, and vehicles selected will have a maximum payload capacity of up to 1,500kg. The company said this would be important in leading heavy and large cargo of autonomous middle-mile deliveries for retailers and distributors.

The first stage of the collaboration will see Goggo deploy Oxbotica’s autonomy software in Spain, to explore usage in middle-mile delivery in its operations with key partners, including the likes of Carrefour, Día and Telepizza. The success of these tests will be a key building block for Goggo to include Oxbotica within its wider mobility network across cities in Europe, including France.

Goggo plans to start operating with safety drivers to oversee its entire Autonomous Mobility Network in 2023, and once the respective safety validations have been completed and regulatory clearance obtained, it will make the transition to full autonomy.

“Our partnership with Oxbotica centres around a shared commitment to realising the benefits of autonomous mobility today,” remarked Yasmine Fage, co-founder and chief operating officer at Goggo. “Our collaboration will enable Goggo to provide an unparalleled experience for autonomous middle- and last-mile deliveries throughout Europe. We were impressed by Oxbotica’s system for autonomy and its outstanding safety standard, and we are excited to see how this collaboration can have a positive impact in the logistics industry, helping some of the critical challenges it faces today.”

Gavin Jackson, CEO at Oxbotica, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Goggo to enable businesses in Europe to deploy autonomous vehicle technology sooner for safer and more efficient operations. We look forward to deploying our unique autonomy solution into their mobility network. From Goggo benefiting their fleets being driven by Oxbotica, to our ground-breaking virtual testing environment and suite of cloud-based management tools, we can help Goggo get the most value from their autonomous fleets.”