Abstract
Emerging info-communication and vehicle technologies (especially vehicle automation) facilitate evolvement of autonomous road freight transportation. The entire transport system and its operation undergo a major change. New service concepts are growing and the existing ones are being transformed. The changing is particularly significant in city logistics. However, there are debates about the ways of automation of processes targeting improvement of capacity utilisation and decrease of expenditures. The main research questions of the paper are therefore: what properties of the future autonomous freight transportation are presumed; what system structure is to be constructed and how the system is to be operated? After introducing the basic notions and reviews of the current systems and developments, the shifting from traditional freight transportation to autonomous system is investigated by several aspects. A system- and process-oriented analytical modelling method has been applied. The main system constituents and their connections are modelled. Finally, we elaborate the operational model of road freight transportation, which is applicable principally in metropolitan areas. In conclusion, the presentedresults appoint the research and innovation trends towards the automation of freight transportation.
Highlights
The technological development in the field of autonomous road vehicles (AV) is large-scale
New analysis and modelling methods should be elaborated and applied in order to facilitate the creation of new services
Key findings include the following: – road transport system becomes highly supported by information systems; most of the constituents manage information, – integrated systems and coordinated procedures are needed to exploit the obvious potentials of AVs and automation of supply chains
Summary
The technological development in the field of autonomous road vehicles (AV) is large-scale. Automated vehicles have been used in port container terminals for years These applications are mainly operated in demarcated and access-restricted areas [2]. Automated and autonomous freight transport will expectedly consist of high-capacity (e.g. trucks) and small capacity (e.g. vans) vehicles. The efficient logistics systems are already well-organized and managed; the autonomous transport requires new planning and control methods, as well as automatized procedures considering the high complexity of supply chains. The paper intends to reveal the opportunities of autonomous technology applying in the field of freight transportation. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that studies deal primarily with the development of vehicle technology and modelling the impacts of private cars on road usage, while management of road freight transportation requires a more complex approach; especially, when the entire supply chain is considered. The paper is completed by the concluding remarks including the potential future research directions
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