Driverless cars could carry aid to warzones

DRIVERLESS vehicles, also known as robo-cars, could soon be used to deliver aid to the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.

Unveiling a driverless car at the Munich Security Conference at the weekend, experts from the UN and Germany said the vehicle relies on AI technology and live cameras to navigate warzones and disaster-struck areas.

The innovation would potentially save lives by removing the need for a human being to make deliveries personally.

The vehicle, which looks like a cross between a tractor and a white UN aid jeep, was shown to The Telegraph on the sidelines of the conference.

Called the “Ahead” (Autonomous Humanitarian Emergency Aid Device), the unmanned vehicle is being developed by the UN’S World Food Programme (WFP) and the German Aerospace Centre.

It will be piloted by the Red Cross in Germany next year with the hope of deploying it in field missions by 2026.

If that happens, the designers say it would be the first case of a driverless car being used to distribute aid.

Bernhard Kowatsch, the head of innovation at the WFP, said: “It will be deployed in field operations in a few years where, due to conflict, mine fields or health hazards, WFP may wish to remove the driver and run unmanned last-mile deliveries. Once ready for field operations, the Ahead technology will allow WFP to make last-mile deliveries in conflict or unsafe areas, potential mine fields or health hazard contexts.”

“Last-mile” deliveries in aid programmes refer to the final stage where the aid is taken from a local distribution centre inside the crisis zone to those who need it.

Mr Kowatsch said the WFP came up with the concept after a former director learnt of advances in the self-driving car industry and wondered if the principle could be applied to aid missions.

UN officials have said that the Ahead vehicle will reduce the cost of aid operations and the risk to staff, in particular in South Sudan, which is the most dangerous country for aid workers.

Founded in 1961, the WFP provides food assistance to countries struck by natural disasters, famine or conflict.

‘The Ahead technology will allow WFP to make last-mile deliveries in conflict or unsafe areas’