Abstract
Freight Urban RoBOTic vehicle (FURBOT) is a complete drive-by-wire vehicle expected to perform autonomously in an urban setting. This upgrading has raised issues that need to be resolved/addressed for the vehicle to achieve a higher level of autonomy. This research addresses two of these main issues. The First is the legal framework/licensing issue necessary to be addressed for the vehicle to be insured and legally drive on public roads. The second is the changes and upgrading the vehicle must go through to become a complete autonomous freight handling vehicle. The outcome of this research led to the decision for correct categorization of the vehicle for resolving its licensing issue and its legal status on the European roads by understanding the limitations of the vehicle, which includes vehicle current state and its structural properties. An additional contribution of this research is identifying the software and hardware changes the vehicle has to go through to be fully autonomous. This includes identification of correct sensors and their placement and quantities. In addition, in-depth study for software identification for the vehicle is provided resulting in favorable choice for an off-the-shelf software. Additionally, foreseeable issues, expectations from the vehicle and requirements (considering its demonstration as an autonomous vehicle) that need to be fulfilled are also highlighted. For demonstration site, use cases and site dynamics are also studied for achieving autonomy. Fulfillment of these requirements is necessary for the vehicle to demonstrate autonomous navigation and freight handling for SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) H2020 project for delivering freight in an urban setting.
Highlights
Published: 22 January 2021FURBOT (Freight Urban RoBOTic vehicle) is an urban freight delivering vehicle designed for last-mile delivery in an urban environment
FURBOT has taken part in SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) project where 69 partners from all across the EU will take part in the adaptation of autonomous vehicles in 20 cities across Europe where autonomous vehicles will demonstrate their autonomy for 24 months
As FURBOT is upgrading itself from a drive-by-wire vehicle to a fully autonomous vehicle within a short period, it is essential for its upgrading that identification, fusion and use of the new sensors which will enable it to navigate and handle freight autonomously be carefully selected
Summary
FURBOT (Freight Urban RoBOTic vehicle) is an urban freight delivering vehicle designed for last-mile delivery in an urban environment. Inaccessible curb space, improper off-loading facilities for the vehicles and lack of elevators waste a lot of energy in last mile delivery [12] In such scenario, delivery boxes through vehicles best suits the need for the customer and operators alike [13]. Requirement formulation for conversion from drive-by-wire vehicle to a completely autonomous vehicle driven on roads is necessary This need essentially created the necessity of our work. As FURBOT is upgrading itself from a drive-by-wire vehicle to a fully autonomous vehicle within a short period, it is essential for its upgrading that identification, fusion and use of the new sensors which will enable it to navigate and handle freight autonomously be carefully selected. We should identify the required sensors and the complete platform where the hardware can be incorporated in the software
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