Page 7 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - July 2021

areas is expected to rise from its current level of 55% to 68% by mid-century. Those in the logistics industry have every incentive therefore to investigate the possibility of automated vans, robots or drones as a solution to this growing dilemma.
Autonomous solution
For autonomous delivery trucks and vans, automation might provide an answer to worker shortages. In the US for example, driver shortage is estimated to reach 150,000 by 2028. The long hours and difficult working conditions make
it expensive and difficult to recruit enough drivers, in an industry where turnover is high.
Although fully autonomous vehicles are a long way off, greater automation, such
as platooning, is seen as a potential means of improving productivity to meet the extra demand that these vehicles will face. This involves linking two or more trucks together using connectivity and automated driving support systems. As early as 2016 a convoy of self-driving trucks arrived in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, having travelled all the way from Sweden.
While technologies like LiDAR and
5G connectivity open the door to this revolution in transport, other areas
of engineering must keep pace. From suspension joints to column design,
parts suppliers must be able to offer
design flexibility and high-quality vehicle components to help original equipment manufacturers develop automated vehicles.
Trials
If all of the above sounds somewhat speculative, it is worth noting the number of trials that are already taking place and the fact that governments are relaxing regulations to encourage this. The US Department of Transportation has granted an exemption to normal rules to allow Nuro to test R2, its autonomous van, in Texas. In the UK, the Academy of Robotics is trialling its Kar-go to carry out deliveries from pharmacies to care homes on the streets of Hounslow.
We cannot say with certainty when fully automated vehicles and robots
will take over the job of fulfilling our increasing demand for deliveries. It seems likely, however, that this revolution will take place before the year 3000. Contra Futurama, Fry might find he has
been replaced by a drone or automated van. After all, Nuro’s R2 has already announced it will be delivering pizza for Domino’s.
Roger Brereton is head of sales at steering systems specialist Pailton Engineering
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