Micro Mobility
Ericsson / 2017
Intro
Micro mobility was a speculative design project, done by a small multidisciplinary team at Ericsson. Creating a scenario, use case, and prototype for a future parcel delivery system. Mainly secured and made possible by a high speed 5G network and blockchain technology. Think of it like post in combination with über and cryptocurrency.
The challenge
In most cities around the world trucks and lorries are the default means of transporting goods and while good logistics is a necessary part of any city the trucks are at the same time causing reduced quality of urban life.
This concept is an attempt to show how a community-based system could reshape the last mile logistics by using technology and connectivity as means of a decentralised protocol.
Scenario
In a decade Stockholm has shifted focus into a city built around communities rather than business. With the goal of setting new standards for quality of life and sustainable living the municipality have introduced new alternative methods of transportation. First no one was sure if it would work to cut away motorised transportation, together with the local public transportation the municipality developed a people driven goods transportation system open for anyone to use.
By introducing portable containers in connection with the public transportation grid, the city could ask its inhabitants to send goods with the help of each other's daily commutes. A economic layer was necessary to motivate people to participate but it also allowed small businesses or entrepreneurs to use the system and develop new services.
Stockholms high level of digital infrastructure allowed every part of the system to keep track of itself, minimising the loss of goods and keeping the system secure. Though the technical security layer of the containers were high, it took a long time for people to trust the system. A lack of transparency made many mistrust the containers and few were willing to transport unknown goods for other people.
This is a decentralised system. Using the power of the Blockchain, the concept tries to disrupt how the logistics business is done nowadays. In this concept, there is no responsible company or agency that controls what is happening. Every transaction, and every action (sharing, transporting, requesting and offering goods) is managed and taken care of by the agents of the systems. These agents may be citizens, drones, or companies.