Volvo Trucks has newly unveiled a new transport solution consisting of autonomous electric commercial vehicles that can contribute to more efficient, safer and cleaner transportation.
The long-term aim is to offer companies that need constant transport services between fixed hubs a complement to present offerings.
Growing world population and increasing urbanisation are leading to significant issues such as congestion, pollution and noise that are severely harming our environment. Rising consumption, the fast growth of e-commerce and the wide-spread shortage of drivers put higher demands on efficient transport solutions.
“The full potential of the transport industry is yet to be seen. Everything suggests that the global need for transportation will continue to significantly increase in the coming decade. If we are to meet this demand in a sustainable and efficient way, we must find new solutions. In order to secure a smoothly functioning goods flow system we also need to exploit existing infrastructure better than currently. The transport system we are developing can be an important complement to today’s solutions and can help meet many of the challenges faced by society, transport companies and transport buyers,” explained Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks.
Volvo Trucks’ future transport solution is intended to be used for regular and repetitive tasks characterised by short distances, huge volumes of goods and high delivery precision. Transports between logistic hubs are everyday examples, but additional use cases can also be applicable.
“Our system can be seen as an extension of the advanced logistics solutions that many industries already apply today. Since we use autonomous vehicles with no exhaust emissions and low noise, their operation can take place at any time of day or night. The solution utilises existing road infrastructure and load carriers, making it easier to recoup costs and allowing for integration with existing operations,” explains Mikael Karlsson, Vice President Autonomous Solutions.
The operation is handled by autonomous electric vehicles connected to a cloud service and a transport control centre. The vehicles are equipped with sophisticated systems for autonomous driving. They are designed to locate their current position to within centimetres, monitor in detail and analyse what is happening with other drivers, and then respond with high accuracy.
The transport control centre constantly monitors the progress of the transport and keeps an accurate eye on each vehicle’s position, the batteries’ charge, load content, service requirements and a number of other parameters. As with an industrial production process, speed and progress are tailored to avoid unwanted delays and to increase delivery precision. In this way it will be possible to reduce waste in the form of buffer stocks, and increase availability. Vehicles that operate on the same route cooperate to create optimal flow.
In the not too distant future, Volvo Trucks’ transport solution will be further developed together with selected customers in prioritised applications.