Augmented Reality in the Transportation & Logistics Sector
An article on IIoT World (Industrial Internet of Things) has produced an in depth five-part series covering the impact of Augmented Reality on the transportation and logistics industry. This is a short summary of the first part.
The world’s logistics and transportation industry is changing fast – and is in need of solutions to a number of keys, pressing business issues. These include:
- a continuing demand for faster, cheaper and more ecologically sound ways of moving goods
- stronger requirements for transparency and accountability of goods sourcing and delivery
- the need for more efficient warehousing to keep up with the pace of goods manufacturing and distribution
- and global economies that are increasing driven by e-commerce transactions that require delivery of goods directly to the homes of consumers.
The US government’s SelectUSA web site (which is aimed at encouraging direct foreign investment in the United States), the U.S. logistics and transportation industry alone totaled $1.48 trillion in 2015, and represented 8 percent of annual gross domestic product (GDP). Select USA’s analysis of the industry describes it as including
- Logistics services
- Air and express delivery services (EDS)
- Freight rail
- Maritime
- Trucking
According to a recent report by strategy and analysis firm PwC, technology will play a big factor in the evolution of transportation and logistics as it works to meet the many challenges it faces. One of the key concepts in the PwC report is the idea of developing a “Physical Internet” that mirrors the digital internet that underpins much of our work today.