Last Week in #LogisticsTech

Self-driving beer and more. What fun!

Britain decided that Uber’s designation of their drivers (or “partners,” as they call them) as self-employed contractors isn’t cutting it. The London Employment Tribunal decided that drivers are, in fact, workers and are therefore entitled to earn the national minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay and other benefits afforded to employees. Uber will undoubtedly appeal the ruling. This marks another growing pain for Uber, and the like, as they continue to define this relatively new thing called the gig economy. Thoughts on how this will affect Uber and other similar business models?

You’ve probably already heard that the first autonomous delivery happened. But like… I have to mention it because it’s obviously super relevant here at Hit.The.Button. A big ol’ 18-wheeler filled with beer drove 120 miles from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs. $30,000 worth of tech successfully delivered the Anheuser-Busch cargo. The drive happened during low-traffic and clear weather because it would have been super awkward if the truck had crashed and all that beer was destroyed and a bunch of people died. No one died, though, and more importantly, the beer made it safe and sound. This. Is. Happening. Trucking will never be the same.

Comma One was this thing that would allow some cars to operate semi-autonomously. That would have been cool. But according to Geohot- the founder- he “would much rather spend my life building amazing tech than dealing with regulators and lawyers.” So due to paperwork, he decided to cancel Comma One altogether.

Got other #LogisticsTech news? Let us know!