Uncrewed Systems Technology 047 l Aergility ATLIS l AI focus l Clevon 1 UGV l Geospatial insight l Intergeo 2022 report l AUSA 2022 report I Infinity fuel cell l BeeX A.IKANBILIS l Propellers focus I Phoenix Wings Orca

49 and was unveiled in March 2022; this is the version that has been deployed in commercial trials. The Lotte was largely a proof-of- concept prototype, designed with a number of key functional targets for retail and logistics end-users in mind, including how many parcels needed to be delivered per hour – three to five orders being the ‘sweet spot’. “Also, the vehicle had to be compact to make it efficient,” Agur adds. “It could not be too bulky to zip in and out of inner-city traffic or delivery yards, so its dimensions of 2.5 x 1.55 x 1.15 m make it around half the length of a typical delivery van, and shorter than most workers. This was also key to it not being lumped in with trucks or cars during homologation.” Work on the Cleveron 701 began in the summer of 2019. Having advanced past concept work, Cleveron’s engineers drew up new targets to specify what their vehicle had to be capable of. As Martin Appo, head of autonomous driving at Clevon, recalls, “Cleveron’s CEO wanted responsible innovation from us, so it followed that the vehicle had to be lightweight. From an energy efficiency standpoint, he hated seeing 2 t vans being used to deliver 300 g pizzas for example, and from a safety perspective, a lighter vehicle is inherently safer for pedestrians in the event of a crash.” In particular though, no-one in Cleveron wanted the vehicle to carry a driver; it had to be totally uncrewed, not just self-driving with a crew member on board. If the vehicle was to be lightweight then a 100 kg driver, 100 kg seat and 100 kg of driver’s cabin and safety systems were all non-starters. “With those broad targets, we prototyped very rapidly and had many test models besides the 701 models Clevon 1 | Digest Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2023 The Clevon 1 autonomous road delivery vehicle is engaged in commercial operations with DHL Express Estonia and DPD Estonia, with other customers to follow (Images courtesy of Clevon)