State of the art - Automated micro-vehicles for urban logistics. Issue 13 (2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baum, Leonard; Assmann, Tom; Strubelt, Henning
• Is Part Of: IFAC-PapersOnLine. Volume 52:Issue 13(2019)
• Page Start: 2455
• Page End: 2462
• Publication Date: 2019
• Subjects: autonomous mobile robots -- autonomous vehicles -- automated vehicles -- automated bicycle -- delivery robot -- autonomous unmanned ground vehicles -- urban freight transport (UFT) -- urban goods movement -- urban logistics -- cargo bike; Automatic control -- Periodicals; 629.805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.11.575
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2405-8963

Abstract

Abstract: The current discussion of automated vehicles mainly focuses on road-based passenger cars. However, automated micro-vehicles for delivery purposes might be more lucrative and even earlier available on the market. Until now, limited research is available about the global development of automated micro-vehicles for urban logistics. This paper conducts a market analysis on them to gain knowledge about the state of the art in respect to application, business model, and technical set-up. This study identifies 39 automated micro-vehicles. Their specific fields of application are still under test, but they focus on food/grocery delivery, post/parcel delivery, maintenance service, spare parts supply, delivery service for local shops, and mobile sales room services. We furthermore developed a classification dividing automated micro-vehicles by infrastructure (road, non-road), vehicle (delivery robot, bicycle) and human role. The analysis of the technical equipment shows, that the technical set-up between vehicle classes differs greatly due to different fields of application and infrastructure used.