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Self-driving technology is on the verge of commercialization and is expected to be utilized in delivery services. At the same time, low efficiency and physical limitations of last mile robots (especially for non-standardized cargo, stairs, etc.) are being pointed out. In addition, as leading overseas companies design robots to complete delivery through interaction with the recipient, it may be difficult to implement the robots in delivery environments like South Korea, where most parcels are not delivered face-to-face. Therefore, this study considers a parcel delivery model in which a person, not a robot, is on-board an autonomous truck for door-to-door deliveries. This study takes three expected effects of a self-driving vehicle into consideration: (i) reduced travel time, owing to alleviation of traffic congestion; (ii) reduced service time, owing to relaxed parking restrictions; and (iii) benefits from en route preparation (planning and collecting in advance of arrival) that can be realized when a person is not required in the driver’s seat. The findings from a case study conducted in Seoul indicate that advanced self-driving capabilities and en route preparation can potentially lead to a doubling of the delivery capacity at a terminal, along with a reduction of over 40% in operating costs per box. As suggested in this study, the en route preparation activities are verified to bring benefits.

AbstractLiquid crystal(LC) materials with 1,3,2-dioxaborinane group have been synthesized and their physical properties have been investigated to get new LC mixtures. The test LC samples were made up of a base LC material doped with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% of each compound in weight. We have measured optical and dielectric anisotropy, nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature, and threshold voltages as a function of doping concentration. From our measurements, it is found that each compound has different properties compared with other ones. So, these results would contribute to development of new LC mixtures for LCD applications.

AbstractA set of new, blended nematic liquid crystal mixtures to improve the performance of highly multiplexed TN-displays are presented. The physical and electro-optical properties of new LC mixtures have been investigated, along with the frequency and temperature dependence of threshold voltage about newly developed liquid crystals. The multiplexable mixtures are completely miscible and can be blended, thus leading to new mixtures covering a wide range of threshold voltages 1.2 > V10> 2.0 V, nematic-isotropic phase transition temperatures 60 > Tc > 100[ddot]C, and/or optical anisotropies 0.13>Δ n>0.18.