Autonomous Freight Truck in the U.S.
The Daimler Fully Automatic, Driverless Freight Truck Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 03 World’s First Unmanned Unmanned Freight Truck to Barrel Down America’s Highways: Meet the Fully-Automated ‘Inspiration Truck’ (May 06, 2015) (Editor’s Note: The Daimler Freightliner Inspiration Truck is the first licensed autonomous commercial truck to operate in American highways) What the Article Chronicles: The Freightliner Inspiration Truck has a Level 3 autonomous vehicle operating system that enables the driver to cede full control of all safety-critical functions under certain traffic or environmental conditions. Using cameras and radars, as well as lane stability, collision avoidance, speed control, smart braking and intelligent steering systems, this autonomous freight truck can stay within the proper highway lane and legal speed limits as well as maintain a safe braking distance from other vehicles, thus allowing it to safely slow down or stop as traffic conditions change. In certain situations (such as when the truck exits the highway, drives on local roads or attempts to dock at a warehouse) the driver is always in control. The Inspiration Truck also showcases Daimler’s platooning technology. When “Highway Pilot” is turned on, two or more properly equipped trucks can use vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology to automatically reduce the gap between them to about 25 feet (7.6 meters), locking them into platoon formation thus using up to 6 percent less diesel than when trucks are traveling by themselves. A very detailed review of all the highlights, innovations and amenities of the Daimler Freightliner Inspiration Truck can be found at the TopSpeed website by clicking here. Official UGV / Drone Name: Daimler Freightliner Inspiration Truck Mission: To improve fuel consumption, reduce...
Unmanned Autonomous Cargo Ships
Rolls-Royce Autonomous Cargo Vessels Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 02 Rolls-Royce Drone Ships Challenge $375 Billion Industry: Freight ( February 24, 2014) (Editor’s Note: This article led to my first LinkedIn post) What the Article Chronicles: Drone ships would be safer, cheaper and less polluting for the $375 billion shipping industry that carries 90 percent of world trade, according to Rolls-Royce. Their Blue Ocean development team has set up a virtual reality prototype at its office in Alesund, Norway, that simulates 360-degree views from a vessel’s bridge. Eventually, these control centers would allow captains on dry land to command hundreds of crewless ships. Official UAV / Drone Name: None yet. Only conceptual. However, a 1:20 prototype of an unmanned, zero emissions, short-sea vessel called the Revolt (LINK) does exist. The virtual reality, smart crew station is called the Future Operator Experience Concept or “oX” and it would be dependent on cameras beaming 360-degree views from the drone ship back to the operators based in the virtual bridge in Norway, thus allowing them to navigate the vessel and remotely to steer them to their final destinations. Mission: Rolls-Royce schematics show vessels loaded with containers from front to back, without the bridge structure where the ship’s crew would normally live (see pictures above and below). By replacing the bridge (along with other crew support systems , such as electricity, air conditioning, water and sewage), the unmanned cargo ships would be able to fit more cargo, thus cutting costs and boosting revenues. Theoretically, these ships would also be 5 percent lighter before loading cargo and would burn 12 percent to 15 percent less fuel....
DHL Delivery Drones in Germany
The DHL Parcelcopter Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 01 DHL parcelcopter launches initial operations for research purposes (September 24, 2014) (Editor’s Note: This is the article that piqued my interest in the unmanned cargo delivery drone/UAV concept) What the Article Chronicles: This was the first autonomous delivery flight authorized in Europe. It was also the first time that a flight by an unmanned aircraft was performed outside of the pilot’s field of vision (i.e. beyond visual line of sight or BVLS) on a real-life mission. Official UAV / Drone Name: DHL Parcelcopter (“Paketkopter” in German). Mission: To provide emergency delivery of medications (and other small goods) via regular flights from the seaside village of Norddeich to the North Sea island of Juist in Germany on days when the regular ferry does not operate. Basic UAV / DroneDescription: The parcelcopter is a small, rotary-bladed UAV that weighs approximately 5 kg (11 lb) and has an autopilot as well as automated takeoff and landing functions. Payload: It can carry a payload of 1.2 kg (2.6 lb). Range: Route (one-way) is approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles). The Parcelcopter can remain aloft for 45 minutes. Speed: At 5o meter (164 feet) altitude, can fly at 18 meters/second (40 mph) depending on wind speed. Companies Involved: DHL Microdrones GmbH (website) The Institute for Flight System Dynamics at RWTH Aachen University (website) What are your thoughts on the DHL Parcelcopter? Comment...Featured Posts
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