Autonomous Delivery Vehicle Company Udelv Secures United States Air Force Small Business Innovation Award

15-month project to improve flight line readiness by enhancing the delivery turnaround time of critical equipment to and from maintenance tool rooms and back shop areas

Udelv, a Silicon Valley venture-backed company, has been selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) AFWERX program for a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to improve flight line readiness by enhancing the delivery turnaround time of critical equipment to and from maintenance tool rooms and back shop areas. By providing an autonomous delivery solution, Udelv will reduce the delivery turnaround time of critical equipment and tools to and from maintenance tool rooms and other back shop areas that support aircraft maintenance to increase flight line readiness.

“We are honored to work with the Air Force on an AFWERX SBIR contract,” said Udelv CEO Daniel Laury.   “Our work with this Air Force program addresses a critical need of speed and efficiency that Udelv’s autonomous technology can do well.   Aircraft maintenance is much more productive if delivery time is enhanced by using the Transporter.  Our vehicle offers sweeping cost reductions over traditional driver-based services.” 

Commercially, Udelv’s customers expect the Transporters to dramatically improve the efficiency of last- and middle-mile delivery services for everything from baked goods and auto parts to groceries and medical supplies.

A pioneer in fully autonomous delivery technology, Udelv produces middle- and last-mile electric cab-less autonomous delivery vehicles for multi-stop delivery runs, called Transporters. The first fully electric cab-less autonomous vehicle for multi-stop delivery feature Udelv’s patented cargo robotics comprised of a suite of hardware and software for intelligent loading and unloading, state-of-the-art telematics and fleet management, and are “driven” by Intel’s Mobileye autonomous driving sensors and computers. Udelv will produce more than 50,000 Mobileye-driven Transporters by 2028, with commercial operations beginning in 2023.

The period of performance for this Phase II Contract is fifteen months.

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