CONNECT DYNAMICS, INC. — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.6

Description

Project Summary / AbstractDescription of the Problem or Opportunity: ​Over 70% of freight in the United States movesby truck but core inefficiencies in the way long-haul trucking operates threaten the industry'ssustainability and profitability and create negative health outcomes for its workforce. There is aninefficient use of expensive assets significant environmental impact from idling trucks andincreased waste of perishable items compounded by longer than necessary transportation time.However the industry's top concern is its significant shortage of long-haul drivers--expected togrow from 60800 in 2018 to 160000 by 2028 (​ATA 2019​). Fleet managers identify the primarycause for the decline as the occupational harsh conditions often requiring workers to be awayfrom home for weeks at a time. This pain point is also well documented through numerousstudies (​Melton & Ingalls 2012​). Rural communities are under particular pressure because theyare overrepresented in driving occupations which requires them to be absent from their familiesand communities.Connect Dynamics Inc. (DBA Truckish) is developing a platform that enables drivers to sleep intheir own beds on a daily basis while reducing shipment delivery and truck idling times. Ourtechnology is designed to create a positive social impact while solving the economicinefficiencies in utilization of human and machine resources--particularly those related to thedaily 13-hour truck idle time. According to federal Hours-of-Service laws a driver is limited to11 hours behind the wheel per day. The proposed platform incorporates algorithms for changinglong-haul trucking from the conventional point-to-point model to a relay model. This enablesdrivers to meet and switch trailers along interstates and return home daily while the trucks andcargo continue to move towards their respective destinations.Project Objectives and a Description of the Effort: ​To establish the logistics softwareplanning platform tentatively named "Relay" feasibility the technical objectives will be: 1)prototype database design and algorithms tuning based on stakeholder inputs; 2) iterative Relaysoftware development; 3) simulation testing with large datasets; and 4) stakeholder interviews toinform revisions and Phase II requirements. We plan a development cycle to design and buildour Relay software backend prototype and tune our algorithms followed by a testing phase toanswer the following research questions in a simulated condition. The key metrics identifiedthrough conversations with over 100 fleet managers include the following:1. Return drivers to their domiciles daily 90% of the time - abiding by federal laws?2. Increase asset utilization by 50% from 50% to 75%?3. Reduce long-haul shipment delivery time by up to 50% - removingidle periods?4. Effectively address anticipated Relay disruptions through mitigation strategies?5. Quantify environmental impact for rural communities?Anticipated Results & Potential Commercial Applications: ​Trucking is a $700 billionindustry. Trucking software is a $2 billion market and freight brokerage is a $72 billion market.In the shipper segment our initial target is perishable food distributors. Relay's decoupling oftractors/drivers from trailers/cargo could cut delivery times in half minimizing loss and saving ontruck refrigeration costs. We have a Letter of Intent from one enterprise fleet committed topartnering on this project and a verbal commitment from a second fleet representing more than$500 thousand revenue on just one example route described in the proposal.