Autonomous Vehicles in the Supply Chain (& Their Fave Songs)

Autonomous vehicles are transforming logistics. We tell the story through examining their favorite songs. It’s very revealing! 

Music and the open road go together. We all love to load up a great playlist when we’re hitting the highway and the contents of that playlist provide clues about our mind frame. Autonomous vehicles are no different. They’re impacting our supply chain from the road to the sky to the warehouse. Let’s explore the state of autonomous vehicles in logistics by investigating their favorite songs. 

As Long As I Can See the Light by Creedence Clearwater Revival (because of how they work)

This classic rock number finds John Fogerty musing about a metaphorical light that guides him on his meandering journey through life. Autonomous vehicles take a more direct approach.

A combination of sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar allow autonomous vehicles to perceive their surroundings. Algorithms process real time data to make decisions, navigate, avoid obstacles, and follow traffic rules. GPS assists with location tracking. Technically, some of this is light related and some is not, but hey, rock and roll is not always a literal medium.

It’s also important to think of autonomy not as a yes/no question, but as a spectrum. In fact, a scale does exist, where 0 represents no autonomy of any kind, 1 includes adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning systems, and so on, all the way to 5, which requires no human intervention of any kind.1 

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk (because it’s all about efficiency) 

Autonomous vehicles use real time data to select routes that lead to reduced fuel consumption and vehicular wear and tear. They save time and create efficiencies. They never stop learning. In this way, they are not dissimilar to French robot-humans who create killer dance music.

Rock Around the Clock by Bill Hayley (because breaks are for humans)

Even the streetwise ne’er-do-wells that tore up the night to the sounds of the new rock & roll craze eventually went home for a rest. No need for a nap when you’re an autonomous vehicle. Unlike humans, they can keep driving and driving, saving money and human labour in the process.

Despite not sleeping, autonomous vehicles have a low risk of accidents. For this reason, they also like to listen to the Safety Dance by Men Without Hats, even though they are genderless and disinterested in headwear.

New Rules by Dua Lipa (because, ugh, regulations)

Dua Lipa’s new rules are self-imposed and related to romance. The rules regulating autonomous vehicles are governed by lawmakers and largely relate to safety. The worst part? Autonomous vehicles are all about travelling, which constantly subjects them to new jurisdictions and, thus, new rules. They can’t wait for it to be over with.

Waymo is a self-driving car company owned by Alphabet (you know, the Google people).2 In the USA they’ve been working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish some standards to help get this show on the road.2

Other challenges facing autonomous vehicles are lack of suitable infrastructure and negative opinions held by humans. Despite this, they keep on. Similar to Puff Daddy, they can’t stop, won’t stop.

Firepower by Judas Priest (because some heavy hitters are in the game)

As mentioned, Waymo sits beneath the Alphabet umbrella. You probably don’t need any introduction to Uber, Tesla, Toyota, or General Motors. These are just a few of the titans that are on the case, so rest assured that progress in autonomous vehicles is imminent and ongoing.

Eastbound and Down by Jerry Reed (because they’re out here on the highway)

Autonomous vehicle company TuSimple reports that they’ve used driverless trucks to deliver fresh watermelons from Nogales, Arizona, to Oklahoma City.3 According to our maps, that’s generally eastbound, although we assume that autonomous vehicles will also venture west, north and south.

Much like Mr. Reed in this timeless trucker anthem, the watermelon truck was tasked with shaving time, which it did, cutting 10 hours, for a 42% time saving.3

Of note, a human was required to ride along for oversight purposes, but autonomous vehicles dream of the day they can add Celine Dion’s ‘All By Myself’ to their playlist.

Another practice involves having a driver for vehicle number one, while several autonomous vehicles follow close behind.1 This ‘platooning’, of course, calls to mind another all-time trucker classic, C.W. McCall’s ‘Convoy’.

Learning to Fly by Tom Petty (because a drone wants to visit you at home or your place of business)

Last mile delivery is such a pain! There’s parking, red lights, and crosstown traffic (another great song; thanks, Jimi!) Why not have truckers drop off cargo on the outskirts of urban centres and allow drones to take it from there?

Walmart has partnered with Alphabet’s ‘Wing’ to provide drone delivery to customers living within a six mile radius of 36 stores in seven states.4 UPS has also been testing autonomous drones for last mile delivery in North Carolina and Florida.2 

You Learn by Alanis Morissette (because automated warehouse vehicles are teaching themselves to be more efficient every day) 

Autonomous vehicles aren’t just operating outdoors, but in warehouses as well. Forklifts, pallet stackers, automated stackers, and carry rack robots have begun contributing to warehousing and procurement efforts. Machine learning and deep learning are used to improve safety and efficiency on an ongoing basis.5

“You live, you learn,” sang our beloved Canadian rocker. While autonomous vehicles don’t necessarily live, they most certainly learn.

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (because this is only going to get more prevalent)

As the Wu Tang Clan famously proclaimed, Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Given that autonomous vehicles promise efficiency and potential cost savings, the future looks bright for continual growth. Currently it’s a matter of trailblazers pushing boundaries in the name of exploration, but with some of the largest titans of industry on board, is there any doubt that autonomous vehicles are set to become more widespread, even commonplace, in the supply chain? The future’s so bright, they’ve gotta wear shades!

Cited Sources 

 1“The Impact of Autonomous Vehicles in Logistics.” ZhenHub, September 4, 2023. https://zhenhub.com/blog/autonomous-vehicles

2 Maaz Khan. “Revolutionizing Logistics and Transportation: The Impact of Autonomous Vehicles.” LinkedIn, March 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/revolutionizing-logistics-transportation-impact-vehicles-maaz-khan-/

3 Kolodny, Lora. “Tusimple Says Its Self-Driving Trucks Shaved 10 Hours off a 24-Hour Run.” CNBC, May 19, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/tusimple-self-driving-trucks-saved-10-hours-on-24-hour-run.html

4 Genovese, Daniella. “Walmart Expands Drone Delivery to 60k More US Households.” Fox Business, August 24, 2023. https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/walmart-expands-drone-delivery-60k-more-us-households

5 Sunol, Hector. “Autonomous Vehicles in Warehouse Management – Is It Time Yet?” Warehouse Technology Articles. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://articles.cyzerg.com/autonomous-vehicles-in-warehouse-management-is-it-time-yet.