OCTOBER 9, 2019 — After receiving a record number of submissions, Urban Freight Lab (UFL) researchers have selected four finalists to participate in the third annual Tech Day: Transforming the Final 50 Feet of Delivery pitch competition.
“This year’s applicants reflect the high level of investment in urban freight innovation,” said Anne Goodchild, Director of the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center, which houses the UFL. “Even our finalists represent a remarkable breadth of solutions.” This year’s application pool saw a 60% increase over the previous year.
The following finalists will present their products and services to UFL members, researchers, public sector partners, and a panel of venture capitalists in the live pitch event on December 10, 2019. Additionally, contestants pitching practical solutions to four key problems may be chosen for a pilot project. Finalists were selected to participate based on feasibility, business application, and market potential.
2019 Tech Day Finalists
- Coord: a dynamic curb management system with changing conditions in real time based on need, improving vehicle parking space productivity and reducing parking-seeking behaviors in dense urban areas
- Populus: a dynamic curb loading zone and pricing pilot that will build communication flows between fleet operators such as goods delivery and ride-hailing vehicles to improve efficient use of the curb
- StoreX: a high density storage and retrieval machine, reducing the rate of failed first deliveries and reducing dwell time through creating density
- Sucasa: a delivery hub network of neighbors receiving packages on behalf of neighbors, reducing the rate of failed first deliveries and reducing dwell time through creating density
Tech Day is a model for UFL members and public sector partners to evaluate new technologies in real time to determine their efficacy to meet business needs and city goals, and for participants to gain exposure and receive feedback on their product.
“There is a real need to provide technology solution providers with the opportunity to get closer to the problems they are trying to address, and to support cities by having experts vet technology solutions claims,” stated Goodchild. “Tech Day accomplishes these aims; thereby supporting the UFL’s mission of getting the right ideas tested and moving urban freight forward.”
READ MORE:
- Tech Day Challenge 2018: Technological Disruption and Innovation in Last-Mile Delivery
- Innovative Tech Day Challenge 2017
About the Urban Freight Lab (UFL): An innovative public-private partnership housed at the Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center at the University of Washington, the Urban Freight Lab is a structured workgroup that brings together private industry with City transportation officials to design and test solutions around urban freight management.
About the Final 50 Feet Research Program: The Urban Freight Lab’s Final 50 Feet research program designs and tests solutions to improve delivery at the end of the supply chain—beginning at a load/unload parking space at the curb, in an alley, or in a private loading bay, and maneuvering through sidewalks, intersections, and building security, and ending with the final customer.