In a not too distant future scenario, more and more of our transports are handled by autonomous vehicles. Not least the last part of a transport or supply chain – when people need to get from public transport to their final destination or goods need to be transported from a transport centre to the end customer. These short distances are often both expensive and environmentally burdensome, and there is a lot to gain from streamlining.
In recent years, two different projects have tested self-driving, electric shuttle traffic on Chalmers Campus and autonomous goods deliveries as part of Chalmers' existing logistics system. But what happens when several different self-driving modes of transport coexist in the urban environment? The project Collaborative Autonomous Transport (SAT) will find out from January 2022 and a year and a half ahead.
"As a partner in the project, Akademiska Hus provides land for the research project to be carried out in the best possible way. It is very gratifying that these rolling projects are now ready to be tested together. As property owners, we look forward to continuing to contribute to this exciting and unique work that brings us a bit closer to a society where public transport can be done with self-driving vehicles," says Henrik Mortensen. strategic property developer at Akademiska Hus.
Eighteen project partners – including universities, property owners, software and product developers and other actors in urban development – will jointly explore the issue based on areas such as vehicle technology, transport efficiency, user perspectives, business models and urban development potential. Visitors to campus Johanneberg become part of the project through more or less active interaction with the vehicles, when moving on the streets or riding the minibus from one side of campus to the other.
"Thanks to the broad collaboration, we will be able to take autonomous transport a big step forward towards real implementation. Our goal at the end of the project is to have a system solution with buses and robots as well as a preparatory analysis of how it can be implemented in new and existing districts," says Per Sunnergren at Johanneberg Science Park, who coordinated the project.
Facts
Project period: January 2022 – June 2023
Total budget: 8 million SEK
Financier: Vinnova/Drive Sweden
Partners: Akademiska Hus, Chalmers University of Technology, Chalmersfastigheter, Ericsson, Framtiden Byggutveckling, City of Gothenburg (traffic office), University of Gothenburg, Hugo Delivery (project manager), Johanneberg Science Park, Keolis, Landvetter Södra AB, Mölndala Fastighets AB, PostNord, Riksbyggen, Skanska, Tele2, Västtrafik, Wallenstam.