Mobility Connect 2026:
Autonomous Futures of the Last Mile

Automation is reaching the last mile of our mobility systems. Join us for an afternoon of short talks and open discussion about what this means for cities, work, and society.

Automation is moving closer to where we live, work, and shop. It started with pilot projects on highways and in city centers. Now it is reaching the last mile, the final stretch that brings people and goods to their destination.

Who benefits when machines take over this stretch? And what does it mean for our cities and the environment?

Researchers from logistics, digital sociology, urban analytics, AI in healthcare, and traffic medicine will share their views.

Guiding question: How will automation reshape the last mile of moving people and goods, and what kind of futures will emerge as a result?

We look at this from three angles.

Technology, Sustainability, and Urban Transformation
What do cities need to change in their streets and planning to make room for automated delivery and shuttles? And what does that mean for the environment?

Work, Responsibility, and Society
Algorithms increasingly run the last stretch of a journey. Who gains oversight, and who loses it?

Communication, Trust, and Public Perception
How do media and public debate talk about delivery robots and autonomous shuttles? And how does that shape what people trust?

Panel speakers

• Sebastian Köhler
  Logistics & Operations Management, KIT
  PhD student working on the project Country to City Bridge, focusing on how autonomous, electric ride-pooling shuttles can connect rural areas to existing public transit hubs and reduce dependency on private cars.
• Gemma Newlands
  Digital Sociology, UZH
  Assistant professor in the Sociology of Societal Digitalization, focusing on the transformation of work in the age of artificial intelligence, particularly human-AI hybridity in the workplace, including topics like algorithmic bias, digital labor platforms, and workplace surveillance.
• Josephine Roper
  Urban Analytics / Geography, UZH
  Postdoctoral researcher at the Urban Analytics Lab, working on theories of access to opportunity and how urban transport systems serve everyday needs; develops accessibility indices (e.g. THERE, perceived walkability) to help cities densify sustainably while keeping them liveable.
• John Anderson Garcia Henao
  AI/ML for Musculoskeletal Health, Balgrist University Hospital
  Senior AI/ML Scientist developing trustworthy digital twins of the musculoskeletal system to support personalized surgical planning and rehabilitation, connecting high-performance sport, everyday mobility, and clinical recovery.
• Stefan Lakämper
  Traffic Medicine, Institute of Forensic Medicine (IRM), UZH
  Head of research and research development in the Division of Traffic Medicine; biochemist by training (Dr. rer. nat.), working on fitness to drive and substance-induced driving impairment in the context of increasingly digital and automated mobility.
• Saverio Bolognani
  Automatic Control Laboratory, ETH
  Senior Scientist applying networked control theory to complex systems like autonomous mobility looking at efficiency and fairness, working with feedback control design, control theory, distributed optimization, stochastic optimization, game theory, and social choice theory.

Agenda

• Welcome & Opening Remarks (10 min)
• Lightning Inputs from Invited Speakers (~5 min each)
• Group Discussions with Panelists at Tables (30 min)
• Panel Reflection & Q&A (20 min)
• Followed by drinks and a Mobility Pub-Quiz

Date
Wednesday, 18 November 2026, 16:30-19:30

Location
SOC-E-010, DSI Event Room, UZH Center, Rämistrasse 69, Zurich

Registration
Mobility Connect 2026: Registration Form