Evangelos I. Kaisar, Ph.D. (PI)
Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering
Florida Atlantic University
ekaisar@fau.edu

Mihalis Golias, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
University of Memphis
mgkolias@memphis.edu

Miguel Figliozzi, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Portland State University
figliozzi@pdx.edu

Sabyasachee Mishra, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
University of Memphis
smishra3@memphis.edu

Proposal Summary and Objectives

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in the public interest and demand for innovative last mile delivery mechanisms such as Autonomous Delivery Robots (ADRs), and delivery lockers. Both options can provide contactless delivery, a highly sought-after service under the directives of social distancing. As a result, consumers, businesses, and governments have switched from being cautious beta testers into eager early adopters. Despite this unprecedented requirement necessitated by the pandemic, various innovative delivery mechanisms need to be deployed by logistics service providers and government agencies conforming to the expectations, needs, and motivations of consumers. This project offers imperative needs to conduct micro-level behavioral research on user acceptance early in the deployment roadmap of delivery robots and utilization of delivery locker. To date, however, scientific investigations on ADRs and delivery lockers have focused on the technical and regulatory challenges, and little attention has been given to evaluating user acceptance and their distribution. The national freight mobility goals are met when movement of goods from origin to destination is done seamlessly with satisfaction to users and other stakeholders. This research project attempts to address the urgent research need during the pandemic because last-mile delivery is a service that depends on responding promptly to consumer needs, and consumer expectations drive companies’ business, logistics decisions and transportation state agencies support.

Funding Amount:
Status: Active
Duration: June 1, 2021 – May 31, 2022