Revolutionizing Last-Mile Logistics: Integrating Autonomous Vertical Delivery Systems in High-Rise Urban Environments

Аннотация

This article examines the integration of CITATION autonomous vertical delivery systems (AVDS) for high- . rise buildings in cities, while discussing the last-mile COPYRIGHT challenges that plague traditional elevator systems, © 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License. which increase operational costs and CO₂ emissions. It is precisely due to this e-commerce and online food delivery boom that the study becomes relevant; modern times see up to 85% of a courier’s delivery cycle time as vertical movement inside a building—skyscraper situation kills all benefits brought by digitally optimized routing; enormous economic and reputational losses happen to both developers and delivery services. The novelty of this research lies in proposing full automation of vertical delivery based on a patented gateway for receiving couriers’ carts, a modular silent conveyor, and integrated microlockers on each floor, eliminating elevator frustration and ensuring end-to-end digital parcel tracking. The solution is easily scalable to any high-rise parameters and integrates with the IT infrastructure of major delivery operators. Following AVDS deployment, the courier time inside the building is reduced to less than one minute, empty elevator trips decrease by one-third, and the building’s carbon footprint is reduced by 3–4%. Econometric analysis reveals an 8.6% increase in tenants’ lease-renewal willingness and a 2.43 percentage point reduction in vacancy, while apartment values rise by USD 4,000– 6,000 due to improved Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics. This article will help developers, property managers, and logistics operators The American Journal of Engineering and Technology 30 https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajet who want to cut costs and boost service quality in tall vertical last mile, shifting overheads and delays to the building projects. interior of the building. Keywords: Autonomous Vertical Delivery Systems; last Materials and Methodology mile; conveyor logistics; microlockers; elevator The materials and methodology of this study are based frustration; ESG effect; digital cargo labeling on analysis of 11 key sources, including statistical Introduction reports from ShopTrial [1] and Grand View Research [2], overview materials from Accenture [3], academic The exponential expansion of e-commerce and ready- studies on elevator operation times in high-rise buildings meal delivery services has re-concentrated supply [4, 5], field observations of delivery processes in Seattle chains on ultra-short distances, where the destiny of the and New York [6, 7], industry standards for elevator entire customer value proposition is determined. In waiting times [8], econometric models of satisfaction 2024, online sales worldwide exceeded USD 6.56 trillion; level impacts on commercial building metrics [9], Bureau additionally, internet retail accounted for 17% of the of Labor Statistics data on average concierge hourly global retail market, with further growth forecasted to wages [10], and the Skyscraper Parcels patent for an reach 31% by 2028 [1]. At the same time, today’s market autonomous vertical delivery system [11]. for online food delivery is already valued at USD 288.8 billion. It is growing at a rate of more than 9% per The theoretical foundation comprises: trends in annum, reaching USD 323 billion by 2025, signaling a exponential e-commerce and online food-delivery structural shift in demand toward one-hour service [2]. growth as reflected in reports [1, 2]; assessments of last- This boom leads to last-mile overload, which accounts mile environmental risks by Accenture [3]; the vertical for around 53% of total transportation costs, and if left last mile concept and elevator frustration phenomenon unaddressed, could increase CO₂ emissions from urban from Ibrahim [4] and Al-Kodmany [5]; empirical data on transport by an additional 32% by 2030 [3]. courier off-vehicle time distribution from Kim et al. [6] and Bednarz [7]; excellent versus unsatisfactory waiting- This horizontal route is only half the challenge. Once interval standards [8]; economic consequences of delays they get to a skyscraper, though, the couriers face via models by Hu, Kok & Palacios [9]; and the impact of vertical barriers that often wipe out whatever benefits operational costs and penalties on delivery services there were from digital optimization. Empirical calculated using BLS statistics [10]. The technical evaluation of 41 elevator installations across 14 high-rise concept and AVDS architecture were studied through buildings demonstrated that in 85.7% of cases, the Markovich’s patent documentation [11]. average waiting time exceeds regulatory standards, already qualifying as elevator frustration for users and Methodologically, the research comprises three main service providers [4]. The psychological tolerance stages. The first is a comparative analysis