The European Commission, through the H2020 framework program, has awarded a funding grant of nearly €20 million for a 29-partner strong consortium to develop and demonstrate driverless heavy-duty vehicles in harsh weather conditions for real-logistics operations.
CertX got the responsibility to cover the cybersecurity topics according to the ISO 21434 as well as functional safety activities according to the ISO 26262 and SOTIF.
With EasyMile as coordinator and software provider, the large-scale All Weather Autonomous Real logistics operations and Demonstrations (AWARD) project aims to bring disruptive change to the trucking industry, fleet operators, and the whole logistics sector. It will do this by contributing to the accelerated deployment of innovative, connected and automated freight transport solutions in Europe and around the world.
Benefits of autonomous heavy vehicles
The Commission has outlined the growing need for connected and automated driving systems for heavy commercial vehicles, citing their great potential. They can improve safety and efficiency of freight transport and make vehicle operations more comfortable. Positive impacts can be expected when highly automated systems are used in logistics operations going from hub-to-hub, including both operations in mixed traffic and in confined areas.
Efficiency and flexibility for heavy-duty freight operations
“Autonomous driving has the potential to revolutionize heavy-duty freight operations, making them more efficient and flexible. With our partners, the project will make the promise of driverless solutions a reality by addressing challenges such as harsh weather operations which are essential to real-world full-scale freight operations,” said Benoit Perrin, Managing Director of EasyMile. “EasyMile has built strong experience in automated driving. We’re excited our technology is at the forefront of this project.” Actions are set to help increase the overall safety and efficiency of freight operations of individual trucks or fleets (emissions/freight ratio, fuel consumption, road occupancy, vehicle utilization, capacity of transport network) in confined areas and in mixed traffic (hub-to-hub) through innovative connected and automated driving systems. As well as show the uptake of new business models and seek to reach a total cost reduction of operations and logistics and supply chain leading to improved competitiveness of the European transport and logistics industry.
Please read more about the project and its partner in the press release of the consortium leader Easy Mile.