(Last change: January 2021)
U-Shift - Managed Automated Driving
Motivation
Similar to the U-Shift vehicle concept, a very far-reaching approach is also followed in automation. In terms of application, the automation is to be linked much more closely to the infrastructure than today's Cooperative Automated Driving (CAD) approaches. The autonomous fleet of vehicles consisting of U-Shift Driveboards is to be controlled centrally via a platform in an integrated traffic control centre, with comprehensive infrastructure sensor technology used for protection, especially in urban areas. This infrastructure-based Managed Automated Driving (MAD) can make a much better contribution to solving traffic problems than the strongly vehicle-based automated driving (CAD) that has been planned to date.
U-Shift Control – Vision ‘A sensor on every lamppost’ – U-Shift Control
• ISAD Level AA! = Management (not yet defined)
• Basically urban approach
• Comprehensive infrastructure-based environment assessment
• Open platform for fleets, integrated fleet and energy management
Goal
U-Shift MAD is a pre-project for ‘U-Shift Control’ in which the MAD concept will be implemented for the first time. In U-Shift MAD, the suitability for approval and economic efficiency of the ‘U-Shift Control’ approach will be tested in advance.
- With regard to the eligibility for approval, the aim is to show the critical aspects of an approval of U-Shift and to show a possible solution for approval. The approval itself is not part of this study.
- In terms of economic efficiency, the aim is to demonstrate the realistic feasibility of U-Shift Control and to illustrate this in various use cases.
For these two aspects, in addition to the general use cases, a concretely proposed first application in the public space – a ‘hub to hub’ freight shuttle service with integration of a passenger transport to a suburban railway station – is to be detailed and prepared, so that all approval and licensing issues as well as the economic efficiency are clarified before the start of U-Shift Control.
The central goal of the ‘U-Shift Control’ superordinate project is to create elementary ICT building blocks for the economic exploitation of the U-Shift concept. In addition, the proposed platform should be open so that all autonomous vehicles in an urban area and/or region can be centrally controlled.
The feasibility studies for U-Shift MAD can be found here.
Sponsor
Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy
Duration
10/2019 – 06/2020
Project management
Jürgen Weimer
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
Institut für Fahrzeugkonzepte
juergen.weimer@dlr.de
Project partners
• German Aerospace Centre, Institute of Vehicle Concepts (project management)
• German Aerospace Centre, Institute of Transportation Systems Technology
• Research Centre for Information Technology