Over the past two years, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, the Finnish technology company Unikie and the Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics at the University of Bremen (BIBA) have been working on the ‘AutoLog’ innovation project. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV), the initiative investigated how vehicles can be moved automatically within logistics areas and integrated safely into existing processes.
The test site is located in a logistics area close to the port of Emden in Germany. In addition to parking areas and driving routes, it includes a busy roundabout. These conditions allowed the project partners to investigate a range of traffic situations. A particular focus was on interaction between automated and manually driven vehicles during ongoing logistics operations, as well as on integrating the technology into existing workflows.
“AutoLog demonstrates the potential of automated driving for our logistics operations,” said Christian Vollmer, Board Member of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand responsible for Production and Logistics and member of the Extended Executive Committee. “For us, the key is not just to develop new technologies under laboratory conditions, but to test their practical suitability where our logistics operations take place every day.”
Technology components working together
AutoLog combines several technology components into an integrated system for automated vehicle logistics. The Unikie Marshalling Solution (UMS) provides overall control and coordination of the vehicles. This requires vehicle technology, environment perception, communications infrastructure and logistics software to work together reliably.
A digital representation of the parking areas supports the planning and coordination of vehicle movements. For communication between the system and the vehicles, the project uses Deutsche Telekom’s public 5G network, enhanced with additional capabilities to meet the application’s requirements.
The UMS runs on an edge cloud system. Data is processed via a high-speed, dedicated fiber-optic connection in close proximity to the cellular network to meet the technical requirements for time-critical applications.
“The combination of low-latency, reliable connectivity, edge infrastructure and intelligent vehicle control creates the technical foundation for scaling automated vehicle distribution from the end of the production line via rail and ship to the end customer,” said Klaus Werner, Managing Director of Business Customers at Telekom Deutschland.
Insights to support the further development of vehicle logistics
Other areas of focus included standardized communication and safe interaction between people and technology. AutoLog is guided by the ISO 23374 standard for Automated Valet Parking and investigates how automated vehicles can be integrated into complex logistics environments. This includes interaction with people and other road users, as well as the coordination of automated vehicle movements with existing logistics processes.
Work on automating vehicle movements is also underway elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group. As part of a collaboration between the AutoLog project and Audi’s Ingolstadt site, the project partners tested the automated loading of vehicles onto rail wagons.
The conclusion of AutoLog marks the end of the joint testing phase. The insights gained are intended to inform the further development of automated logistics processes and provide a basis for assessing additional applications.
