The biggest challenge for autonomous logistics today is no longer technology – it is whether our cities are ready
It is easy to talk about autonomous delivery vehicles as the next big innovation in logistics. The real value of the technology, however, only becomes clear when it is tested in everyday urban traffic.
International technology and logistics group Omniva spent five months testing autonomous delivery vehicles to evaluate their practical applicability. Although the pilot took place in Estonia, its findings are relevant across the Baltics: today, the biggest challenge is no longer the technology itself, but whether urban infrastructure and regulation are ready to support it.
Autonomous vehicles are rapidly moving beyond the testing phase and into everyday logistics operations. In Belgium, Slovenia and several other European countries, they are already helping improve final-mile deliveries, reduce operating costs and address labour shortages. Yet despite this progress, autonomous vehicles remain a rare sight in everyday city traffic.
To assess how the technology performs in real-life conditions, Omniva entrusted autonomous vehicles with delivering parcels to real customers on the streets of Tallinn. During the five-month pilot, the vehicles delivered more than 20,000 parcels.
The vehicles were operated so that a single operator could monitor and, when necessary, remotely control the routes of three autonomous vehicles simultaneously.
Consistency is the greatest strength of autonomous vehicles
The pilot confirmed that autonomous vehicle technology has reached a high level of maturity. An autonomous vehicle always operates according to predefined rules. It does not make emotion-based decisions and consistently follows traffic regulations, even in situations where a human driver might choose to act differently.
As with any emerging technology, the pilot also revealed several technical incidents. On two occasions, the vehicle stopped unnecessarily in front of tram tracks after its sensors mistakenly identified them as obstacles. In another case, a software error caused a minor collision with a parked vehicle.
This is precisely why pilot projects are essential: they allow technological limitations to be identified under real operating conditions and addressed quickly.
Experience from autonomous vehicle deployments worldwide shows that the number of serious traffic accidents remains significantly lower than in conventional traffic. This does not mean the technology is infallible, but it demonstrates that safety continues to be its highest priority.
One of the most valuable lessons from the pilot was that autonomous vehicles may require additional communication capabilities in the future. For example, equipping vehicles with a microphone would allow the remote operator to communicate directly with other road users whenever necessary.
Technology is advancing faster than urban infrastructure
Although the technology performed successfully in most situations, it quickly became clear that today’s urban infrastructure is not yet fully prepared for autonomous vehicles.
One of the more unexpected challenges involved road barriers. While people can adapt to different situations, autonomous vehicles operate strictly according to predefined scenarios. When reality falls outside those parameters, the vehicle simply stops.
Likewise, if the connection to the remote operator or the video feed is interrupted, the vehicle automatically comes to a stop. This is essential from a safety perspective, although it may occasionally inconvenience other road users.
Because the vehicles used in the pilot were limited to a maximum speed of 25 km/h, they are currently best suited to short urban routes and the final stage of parcel delivery.
Strong economic potential and clear environmental benefits
At the beginning of the pilot, the cost per delivered parcel was higher than when using a conventional courier van. By the end of the project, however, the economic potential had become evident. Looking ahead, autonomous logistics could become at least twice as cost-efficient as traditional delivery services. The question is no longer whether this will happen, but when.
In the long term, this could mean not only lower logistics costs but also faster and more flexible deliveries for customers.
The environmental benefits are equally clear. Autonomous electric vehicles produce no direct emissions during operation, consume less energy than diesel or conventional electric vans, and thanks to optimised driving patterns, also help reduce noise and air pollution in urban areas.
Autonomous logistics is the future
The greatest value of Omniva’s pilot was not the technology itself but the data gathered under real operating conditions. Only by serving real customers every day can autonomous vehicles reveal both the true potential and the current limitations of the technology.
The pilot demonstrated that autonomous logistics can operate successfully in real-world conditions. The key question for Lithuania and the wider Baltic region is now how quickly cities, infrastructure and regulation can adapt to these new solutions.
Omniva will continue testing different autonomous transport solutions to evaluate their practical application and long-term potential for logistics across the Baltics.
Hannes Falten, Head of Delivery Innovation at Omniva
Laivi Markii, Head of Remote Operations for Autonomous Vehicles at Omniva