Use of autonomous vehicles and drones expected to rise in US transportation industry

A recent B2B technology survey by ABI Research of 455 US-based companies across nine verticals finds that 30 per cent of transportation industry respondents plan to introduce robotics into their business operations within the next year, with another 22 per cent actively assessing the technology. Despite notable near-term progress in robotics deployments among the respondents to support e-commerce and delivery growth, their lack of familiarity with nascent technologies such as AR, blockchain, 5G, autonomous
August 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

A recent B2B technology survey by 5725 ABI Research of 455 US-based companies across nine verticals finds that 30 per cent of transportation industry respondents plan to introduce robotics into their business operations within the next year, with another 22 per cent actively assessing the technology. Despite notable near-term progress in robotics deployments among the respondents to support e-commerce and delivery growth, their lack of familiarity with nascent technologies such as AR, blockchain, 5G, autonomous vehicles, AI, and the related ecosystem for transportation technologies is impacting potential adoption.

"Transportation providers may view intelligent transportation technologies as solutions to evolve their existing transportation operations versus opportunities for developing new revenue streams and business models," says Susan Beardslee, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. "These players also show concern for legacy systems integration and comprehension of the complexity/fragmentation of their supply chain."

Survey respondents find that intelligent transportation technology benefits are frequently linked to promoting workforce collaboration, centralised IT and operations frameworks, as well as workforce mobility. Primary barriers to adoption include data security and privacy concerns, alignment with existing legacy framework, and associated costs of technology adoption. Respondents also expect limited impact of delivery drones over the next two years; 40 per cent do not see a role for this in their businesses within that timeframe. 

"The results deliver validation that notable challenges remain to digitise, automate, and transform the transportation industry, especially with the very long tail of owner-operators and small fleets," concludes Beardslee. "Support of emerging technologies draws mixed reactions, with Over the Air building awareness. But respondents still see other compelling technologies, such as gateways, as nascent to the transportation industry. We expect to see this increase soon to effectively link vehicles and assets to operations."

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lack of funds holding back smart cities, says Wi-Sun
    July 4, 2019
    Lack of investment is the biggest challenge to smart city development, according to half the people who took part in a poll. Wi-Sun Alliance says a fifth of participants in its survey point to security and privacy issues while 14% see interoperability as a major factor for progressing deployments. Wi-Sun – whose members include Cisco and Toshiba - seeks to accelerate the implementation of open standards-based field area networks and the Internet of Things (IoT). Phil Beecher, CEO of Wi-Sun, says
    Read More
  • Consumer interest builds for 'gateway' automated vehicle technologies, says study
    April 29, 2016
    Trust in automation technology is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2016 US Tech Choice Study, which says trust in automation technology is a critical step toward the future of automated vehicles. The study was conducted in February through March 2016 and is based on an online survey of more than 7,900 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.
    Read More
  • Study calls Inrix off-street parking the ‘clear winner’ in US and Europe
    January 21, 2016
    An independent off-street parking benchmark study carried out by automotive technology research firm SBD has concluded that ParkMe, an Inrix company, beat Parkopedia in data accuracy across the key attribute categories in five cities in the US and Germany. According to the study, overall, ParkMe was 12 per cent more accurate than Parkopedia across a set of core attributes that are essential to automakers for customer satisfaction. Most important, ParkMe was 23 per cent more accurate providing the precise
    Read More
  • Making ITS connections requires leadership
    January 23, 2020
    From making the commute more bearable to saving the planet, Jim Alfred of BlackBerry Certicom believes that ITS has the capacity to drive a range of transformational opportunities – but leadership is required, he warns
    Read More

Highlighted Content