This week, nearly 150 households in East Arlington and near The University of Texas at Arlington are receiving grocery deliveries through a groundbreaking initiative involving autonomous electric robots and aircraft. These deliveries, made possible by the City of Arlington’s Multimodal Delivery pilot program, aim to test the feasibility of using no-emission and low-emission vehicles to deliver food, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while providing essential services to residents.

The deliveries, which consist of non-perishable pantry items donated by the Tarrant Area Food Bank, are part of a two-year research study funded by a $780,182 U.S. Department of Energy grant. The program’s primary focus is on residents who face mobility challenges, have low incomes, or lack access to reliable transportation, making it difficult for them to procure groceries independently.

Ann Foss, Planning and Program Manager for the City of Arlington’s Transportation Department, emphasized the program’s innovative approach. “Our focus here is on food delivery to residents who may have mobility challenges or low income and, for whatever reason, can’t get out and get groceries on their own. Because we like to innovate in Arlington by testing new technologies and helping our residents learn about them, we are using an electric ground robot that will deliver the packages to people’s homes. We are also using electric, autonomous aircraft that are flying in City parks only to help us deliver the packages from a central hub.”

The City of Arlington has partnered with several organizations to bring this project to life, including the Tarrant Area Food Bank, the University of Texas at Arlington, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition, Airspace Link, Aerialoop, and Clevon. The aim of the study is to evaluate the scalability and efficiency of using smaller electric robots and uncrewed aircraft for deliveries, particularly for residents who are historically disadvantaged or face mobility issues.

Stephen Raeside, Chief External Affairs Officer at Tarrant Area Food Bank, noted the potential impact of this project on the organization’s capacity to serve the community. “Tarrant Area Food Bank distributes one million nutritious meals every single week. That really strains our capacity. What really thrills us so much about this project is the opportunity to investigate the future and see how we can improve our capacity with novel technology while also being kind to the environment.”

The target delivery area includes portions of the University of Texas at Arlington campus and surrounding neighborhoods, stretching from Abram Street in the north to Pioneer Parkway in the south, and from Collins Street in the west to State Highway 360 in the east. The deliveries are being carried out by Aerialoop’s ALT6-4 VTOL aircraft, a battery-powered aircraft capable of carrying up to nine pounds, and Clevon’s autonomous ground robot, CLEVON 1, which features a spacious cargo bay that recipients can access using a code.

A second round of deliveries to an additional 150 households is planned for spring 2025, according to Foss. “We are gathering data from the operational perspective and from the participants we are serving. We are really trying to understand what is working and what are remaining opportunities or challenges. We will analyze all the data over the next few months and improve on what we are doing right now with the lessons we’ve learned.”

The program also utilizes Airspace Link’s AirHub® Portal, a digital infrastructure that assists in planning, decision-making, and operations by providing detailed ground and air analysis. This data is essential in determining the most efficient routes for takeoff, landing, and delivery.

Foss highlighted the program’s potential to reduce environmental impact and congestion, saying, “By taking large gas or diesel delivery trucks off the road and using these smaller electric vehicles, hopefully the project will show improvements in energy use, air quality, and congestion.”

The lessons learned from Arlington’s Multimodal Delivery pilot will be shared with other communities looking to implement similar initiatives, contributing to broader efforts to reduce emissions and improve urban logistics.

For more information, visit the City of Arlington’s website and the Safe Streets Arlington program page.