Recently, I heard something that really surprised me💡 - autonomous robot vans are becoming incredibly affordable!
Apparently, a Chinese company called Neolix is selling Level 4 autonomous delivery vans for around $22,000 (about 2.5 million yen)🥺✨
"Level 4 autonomous driving" means the vehicle can drive itself without a driver on pre-determined routes. Think of it like bus routes - roads that are properly mapped from "point A to point B."
This technology actually has many potential applications!
🚚 For example, transporting goods from regional warehouses to various stores,
🚖 Or for taxi companies, providing shuttle services from airports to popular destinations.
These kinds of "just driving fixed routes" jobs might be exactly what autonomous vans excel at✨
Neolix says their orders have increased tenfold since last year, and they already have over 10,000 vehicles on the road😮💨
What would happen if this grew to 100,000, or even 1 million vehicles?
And most importantly, the price is the key point.
Since it's much cheaper than human drivers, it must be very attractive for companies💭
It made me realize that while I thought "robots and AI taking jobs" was something for the distant future, it might actually be much closer than we think🥺
Of course, autonomous vans won't take all jobs, but the spread of this technology seems likely to gradually affect how we work🌸
If you're interested, I encourage you to check out Neolix's official website and related news articles🔧
【Neolix Official Website】https://neolix.net/
【Related Article (English)】https://www.therobotreport.com/neolix-raises-600m-to-continue-scaling-autonomous-robovan-fleet/
The future of work is a bit exciting and a bit scary, but I want to keep watching it unfold❣️
Hatena
Comments
ジャック
Winter roads are tough even for experienced drivers, and black ice is invisible, so it's scary to think about self-driving cars sliding.
エイダン
My dream is a Level 5 autonomous van with a bed in the back where I can sleep comfortably until arrival. I'm currently on a 1,800-mile business trip.
ハンナ
Isn't this more like a train than true autonomous driving? The real meaning of autonomous driving should be handling random unexpected situations, right?
グレース
There's no service that provides shuttle from the airport to homes just one mile away, it's not realistic. Chinese cars can't sell in the US without tariff exemptions.
リリー
Maybe it'll take another 50 years. Simple tasks and long-hour jobs will be automated first, creative work might be centuries away. AI is advancing but hardware isn't keeping up.
クリス
Not this article's brand, but I saw an SF delivery van like the one described here in China last week. I'm in a regional city, so there must be even more in major cities.
