Unsettled Topics Concerning Human and Autonomous Vehicle Interaction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Razdan ◽  

This report examines the current interaction points between humans and autonomous systems, with a particular focus on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), the requirements for human-machine interfaces as imposed by human perception, and finally, the progress being made to close the gap. Autonomous technology has the potential to benefit personal transportation, last-mile delivery, logistics, and many other mobility applications enormously. In many of these applications, the mobility infrastructure is a shared resource in which all the players must cooperate. In fact, the driving task has been described as a “tango” where we—as humans—cooperate naturally to enable a robust transportation system. Can autonomous systems participate in this tango? Does that even make sense? And if so, how do we make it happen?

Author(s):  
Anders Hjalmarsson-Jordanius ◽  
Mikael Edvardsson ◽  
Martin Romell ◽  
Johan Isacson ◽  
Carl-Johan Aldén ◽  
...  

How can autonomous technology be used beyond end-customer autonomous driving features? This position paper addresses this problem by exploring a novel autonomous transport solution applied in the automotive logistics domain. We propose that factory-complete cars can be transformed to become their own autonomous guided vehicles and thus transport themselves when being moved from the factory for shipment. Cars equipped with such a system are driverless and use an onboard autonomous transport solution combined with the advanced driver assistance systems pre-installed in the car for end-customer use. The solution uses factory-equipped sensors as well as the connectivity infrastructure installed in the car. This means that the solution does not require any extra components to enable the car to transport itself autonomously to complete a transport mission in the logistics chain. The solution also includes an intelligent off-board traffic control system that defines the transport mission and manages the interaction between vehicles during systems operation. A prototype of the system has been developed which was tested successfully in live trials at the Volvo Car Group plant in Gothenburg Sweden in 2017. In the paper, autonomous transport is positioned in between autonomous guided vehicles and autonomous driving technology. A review of the literature on autonomous vehicle technology offers contextual background to this positioning. The paper also presents the solution and displays lessons learned from the live trials. Finally, other use areas are introduced for driverless autonomous transport beyond the automotive logistics domain that is the focus of this paper.


Author(s):  
Vincent E. Castillo ◽  
John E. Bell ◽  
Diane A. Mollenkopf ◽  
Theodore P. Stank

IEEE Access ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Ahram Jeon ◽  
Joohang Kang ◽  
Byungil Choi ◽  
Nakyung Kim ◽  
Joonyup Eun ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Peter Kurzweil ◽  
Alfred Müller ◽  
Steffen Wahler

Compared to the medical, economic and social implications of COVID-19 vaccinations, little attention has been paid to the ecological balance to date. This study is an attempt to estimate the environmental impact of two mRNA vaccines in terms of CO2 equivalents with respect to their different freezing strategies and supply chain organization. Although it is impossible to accurately calculate the actual environmental impact of the new biochemical synthesis technology, it becomes apparent that transport accounts for up to 99% of the total carbon footprint. The emissions for air freight, road transportation and last-mile delivery are nearly as 19 times the emissions generated from ultra-deep freeze technologies, the production of dry ice, glass and medical polymers for packaging. The carbon footprint of a single mRNA vaccine dose injected into a patient is about 0.01 to 0.2 kg CO2 equivalents, depending on the cooling technology and the logistic routes to the vaccination sites in Germany.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Btissam Moncef ◽  
Marlène Monnet Dupuy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore sustainability paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by focusing on logistics management in last-mile logistics.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory study, a total of 10 case studies were conducted in three categories of companies: anti-waste platforms, food delivery platforms and bicycle delivery companies. Twenty-seven face-to-face interviews with founders and/or managers and contractors (couriers, logistics service providers or volunteers) were the primary source of data collection. The heterogeneity of the sample enabled the authors to build an understanding of sustainability paradoxes in the logistics of sharing economy initiatives.FindingsThe findings indicate how logistics management impacts the sustainability of sharing economy initiatives in last-mile delivery. The authors identify seven paradoxical tensions (five of them social) generated by the contradictions between the organizations' promised environmental and social values and the impacts of their operations.Research limitations/implicationsThis exploratory research is based on a qualitative study of 10 cases and 27 interviews from heterogeneous samples; further empirical research is needed to ensure generalization.Practical implicationsThe paper increases the understanding of environmental and social paradoxical tensions and awareness of logistics challenges.Social implicationsThe paper helps identify ways to reconcile promised values and impacts generated by sharing economy initiatives while managing last-mile delivery.Originality/valueThe results enrich the literature about the paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by providing illustrations in last-mile logistics and exposing the underlying challenges for sharing economy logistics actors.


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