Logistics startup Pipedream Labs is planning to run small autonomous vehicles through a network of underground tubes in Atlanta suburbs. These underground tubes are currently used for water, Wi-Fi, and sewage. It will now be shared with a train transporting someone’s lunch.
Bloomberg reports that Peachtree Corners, northeast of Atlanta, will be used as Pipedream Labs’ first test case.
Benefits of going underground
Pipedream Labs has been awarded TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 award for taking logistics and last-mile delivery to the next level.
“Pipedream is looking underground to make last-mile logistics cheaper and more efficient. The company is building below-ground delivery systems that can transport goods through subterranean pipes, starting with a 1-mile network in Georgia,” states TIME.
The logistics startup says: “We are building the infrastructure to make delivery of more than 95% of consumer products extremely low-cost, emission-less, and congestion-less forever through our autonomous, underground delivery system.”
- Cities: 95%+ of goods delivered to a community will take less than 10 minutes for $1/delivery. The revenue will be shared with the city while reducing emissions and congestion to zero.
- Restaurants: Pipedream’s Instant Pickup system allows restaurants, grocery stores, and other retailers to increase capacity and revenue by creating unlimited automated pickup and drive-thru stations.
- Developers: Sustainable, car-free communities. This is a developer’s dream. The options are endless, and the benefits. Create hubs for residents and businesses that provide instant delivery of goods directly into their homes, offices, stores, and restaurants.
Pipedream Labs dreams big
Last-mile delivery revs up the supply chain logistics expenses by almost half the bill. By taking it underground, traffic and emissions are less, while it also cuts costs.
Pipedream Labs wanted to “reinvent the wheel” when they started the business in 2021. It uses electricity to fuel autonomous vehicles, using batteries to travel on underground tracks.
The infrastructure had to be built, which included “tunneling under streets and digging trenches alongside roadways,” explains Pipedream Labs to Bloomberg. Think of it as how construction workers operate in the city when installing water pipes underground.
The pilot project in Peachtree Corners brags with a three-quarter-mile-long delivery pipe linking an innovation center, Curiosity Lab, with a shopping center. This will allow employees at this center to order lunch and deliver their food with no hassle during peak hours.
This could be the future of last-mile delivery. Traffic and high-rise buildings won’t impact the time it takes to deliver to customers.
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Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
