award-en-04

Use case:hub-to-hub shuttle

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Automated vehicles

Autonomous driving is already a reality, and holds the promise of safer roads and enhanced mobility.

We have created this resource to provide you with information about automated vehicles, their architecture and challenges of autonomous logistics.

This course has been developed within the european project AWARD (All Weather Autonomous Real logistics operations and Demonstrations), bringing together industrials and researchers all over Europe.

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Use case : hub-to-hub shuttle

The results

Explore the results of the experimentation and the lessons learned

The vehicle

Discover the vehicle used for the experimentation

This episode presents a concrete use case for an automated vehicle.Remember, if you want to delve into a topic, just click on the "+ info" button, and explore the additional ressources.

The setting

Discover the setting of the real-life tests

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The setting

A hub-to-hub shuttle transports goods from one industrial site to another.In this particular use case, the shuttle operated between a production factory and a logistics hub. It transported boxes that were loaded and unloaded when arrived to destination.The electric autonomous shuttle has been tested in the same conditions, in which a conventional human-driven Diesel truck usually operates.Click on the icons to discover the elements of the setting of the experimentation.

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Use case : hub-to-hub shuttle

The results

Explore the results of the experimentation and the lessons learned

The vehicle

Discover the vehicle used for the experimentation

The setting

Discover the setting of the real-life tests

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The vehicle

The vehicle used for the experimentation is a swap body electric transporter. This means, that it can easily adapt to the different types of containers.The transporter has been equipped with different devices in order to meet the requirements of Level 4 autonomy.Click on the picture to zoom in and to examine the vehicle.

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The vehicle

One of the goals of this experimentation was to make sure that the vehicle is able to operate safely in different conditions : harsh weather (rain, snow or fog), at night time, and among other road users.The different sensors fitted to the transporter are thus adapted to face these conditions : radars, lidars, GPS, cameras and the data processing system collecting and "making sense" of the collected information.Discover the different elements making the transporter autonomous and safe, by clicking on the icons.

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Use case : hub-to-hub shuttle

The results

Explore the results of the experimentation and the lessons learned

The vehicle

Discover the vehicle used for the experimentation

The setting

Discover the setting of the real-life tests

skip to the end

Feel free to explore this part again!

Feel free to explore this part again!

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The results

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This use case shows a successful implementation of a Level 4 autonomous vehicle on both public and private sites.The main goals of this hub-to-hub shuttle experimenation were to reduce and optimize human work, provide safety and efficiency for the employees, and provide a proof of concept.Even though an on-board operator had to be present all the time, which was required due to safety reasons, the automation showed a clear potential to reduce the human work for this specific driving task.

Responding to the environment

Safety and efficiency

Operating on different domains

Ready for a scale up!

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Watch this video to see the shuttle in action!

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Use case : hub-to-hub shuttle

The results

Explore the results of the experimentation and the lessons learned

The vehicle

Discover the vehicle used for the experimentation

The setting

Discover the setting of the real-life tests

skip to the end

Feel free to explore this part again!

Feel free to explore this part again!

Next

Previous

Feel free to explore this part again!

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Communicating with traffic lights

The vehicle was connected to the traffic lights, in order to avoid traffic congestion and increase road safety. This means, it wirelessly exchanged information with the road infrastructure, which allows adapting the speed and anticipating the traffic regulation.This was achieved using C-ITS communication : cooperative intelligent transportation system.

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Need to refresh your memory on the different automation levels?Feel free to go back to the Episode 1 - What is an automated vehicle?

go to episode 1

Why automating this hub-to-hub operation?Usually, the transportation in this particular setting is done by a human operated Diesel truck. It has a fixed time schedule on defined operational hours, divided in two working shifts.Putting an autonomous electric shuttle on this route thus allows decreasing CO2 emissions, ensuring continued service and sparing monotonous work tasks for the human driver.

The vehicle is able to signal failures and to perform in total safety for the other road users. A safety operator supervises the vehicle at all times, ready to take action if needed.

The vehicle is able to operate in all weather and light conditions, thanks to the enhanced hardware and software solutions. It correctly detects environment changes and adapts its behaviour correspondingly.

Route

The shuttle travelled a distance of 600 metres between the two hubs. Some parts of the route are situated on private sites (the hub areas) and some parts are situated on public roads (main and side roads). The vehicle thus encountered both traffic light regulation and unregulated crossings.The vehicle was programmed to perform exactly the route it is supposed to follow.

The vehicle is able to perform on areas with different restrictions (private and public roads), and to handle traffic, barriers and gates on its route.

The successful real life demonstration shows the potential for a large scale deployment of autonomous logistics!

Collecting information about the environment

The vehicle also received information about the environment : for instance, live data on weather and road surface conditions.This allowed the transporter to adapt its speed, and activate additional processing in case of rain, snow or fog.Feel free going back to episode 3 to discover how the sensors were adapted in order to deal with harsh weather conditions!

go to episode 3

Traffic

The vehicle was tested in different traffic conditions. In order to minimize congestion and guarantee safety, it has been connected to the traffic light schedule.It also had to manage other road users, barriers and unregulated crossings on its way.

Fleet management system (FMS)

The operation of the vehicle was orchestrated and monitored via Fleet Management Systems.It is the "electronic brain" behind a fleet of autonomous vehicles, dispatching them according to the needs in real time. It assigns missions to the vehicle, monitors and controls its deployment.A human can take over the control of the vehicles whenever needed.

Speed

The speed limitation on the section of the route is set at 60 km/h.The maximum speed of the shuttle was 20 km/h.

Need to refresh your memory on the different sensors of autonomous driving?Feel free to go back to the Episode 2 - How does an autonomous vehicle work?

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go to episode 2

Explore the technicalities of the AWARD sensor set by following this link

Safety

Just like all the vehicles within the AWARD project, the transporter was tested and validated before the demonstration in real life conditions.A specific task of the project was dedicated to study various critical scenarios, and make sure the vehicles meet the required safety standards (such as ISO26262, SOTIF and the Machinery Directive).

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