PROJECT

AURA

Problem Statement

The market for courier, express, and parcel services (CEP) has been experiencing steady growth for many years. This development poses significant challenges, particularly due to the dynamic growth, especially in urban areas. These challenges include negative ecological effects caused by the emissions of climate-harming greenhouse gases.

Furthermore, the emission of noise and air pollutants results in health consequences for residents. In addition, delivery traffic burdens urban infrastructure and other traffic, leading to further conflicts related to usage competition, space requirements, and the impact of the booming online trade, which has seen additional growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of this growth, hindrances and accident risks arise in CEP services. While the progressive electrification of the CEP vehicle fleet significantly reduces noise and pollutant emissions, the change in propulsion type without changing vehicle size does not contribute to solving the transportation and infrastructural problems.

A significant potential to address the present issues regarding emissions, traffic burdens, and infrastructure needs lies in the commercial use of cargo bikes for parcel delivery. These bikes operate locally emission-free, reduce space requirements on the streets, hardly impede traffic, are often faster than motor vehicles, thus promoting the transition to a sustainable, livable city. To compensate for the disadvantage of lower cargo volume, additional transfer points in the form of micro-hubs are frequently used.

Delivery areas in inner-city mixed zones are typically about 1-3 km away from a micro-hub and characterized by high stop density. Couriers often serve entrances on a street at short distances during delivery. This means they have to stop, dismount, park the bike, sort and retrieve shipments, remount the vehicle, and continue driving for a few meters repeatedly. These idle processes consume a lot of time and exert physical strain on the personnel, especially with two-wheeled post bikes.

Autonomous small vehicles like Follow-Me robots address this issue by following the delivering person, eliminating mounting and dismounting processes. However, these vehicles can only follow the couriers at walking speed. Since the provisioning at the delivery area and the bridging of distances between delivery areas take correspondingly long, overall efficiency is hardly improved.

Objective

There is a need for a system that combines the flexibility of cargo bikes with the ergonomic advantages and streamlined delivery processes of Follow-Me robots. To enable efficient operation, such a system must be hands-free controllable, able to drive in front of or beside the person (e.g., for package retrieval), enable autonomous and secure parking, and be fully integrated into the flow of information regarding orders and routes.

The joint project "Eaasy System" therefore aims to develop an adaptive autonomous delivery system for the last mile. This aims at significantly improving the efficiency and ergonomics of urban delivery processes. The specific objectives of the project include the development, implementation, and validation of a courier-monitored Come-With-Me function and its system integration at TRL-6. For this purpose, the first adaptive autonomous delivery vehicle (Pedal-Assisted-Transporter, PAT) with voice-controlled Come-With-Me function (Figure 1) as well as the associated dispatch, operation, and planning environment will be developed.

Implementation

The project follows the approach of VDI 2206 and is divided into a total of four work packages (WPs). WP 1 includes requirements analysis and specification. In WP 2, the conception and construction of the Come-With-Me function and vehicle take place. The Come-With-Me function will be implemented with a function test in WP 3 and subsequently validated in a field test in WP 4. The WPs are each completed by a milestone. Within the WPs, the partners work on defined sub-work packages as well as joint work packages for the consolidation of results and testing and validation. Concurrently, the development of system integration, business model, and planning tool takes place (WP 5).

Partners

A total of 5 consortium partners are involved in the joint project:

• Marketing Service Magdeburg KG (Mediengruppe Magdeburg MVD)
• Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
• FusionSystems GmbH
• ONOMOTION GmbH
• Institute for Automation and Computer Science GmbH

DPD Deutschland GmbH also participates as an associated partner.