Forbes, one of the world's most respected and renowned financial and economic publications, has published an expert opinion of the CEO of Unitsky String Technologies Inc. Nadezhda Kosareva.
The article is devoted to the problem of the introduction of unmanned freight transportation and options for its solution. The article discusses the challenges that the transport industry will face when launching automated and unmanned trucks, and also highlights alternative methods of cargo delivery. In addition, emphasis is placed on the opportunities presented to the logistics sector representatives by the use of new technologies instead of trying to transform the old transport base.
Unmanned freight transportations – is a new logistics trend or a necessity?
The representatives of freight transport sector have realised that mass adoption of unmanned transport is inevitable, especially as the number of companies interested in developing this area continues to grow.
The popularity of automated solutions is largely due to the worldwide shortage of drivers. In Eurasia, for example, 26% of driver vacancies remained open in 2020. The American Freight Transport Association predicts that the shortage of drivers will rise to 160,000 by 2028.
As the head of an international company that develops, designs, manufactures and tests overhead transport and infrastructure complexes, I believe that automated transport can improve transportation efficiency and safety and minimise the impact on the environment. I would like to emphasise the importance of innovation in autonomous flyover transport, and highlight the barriers that are emerging so that the heads of enterprises and investors can keep up with the times and make the use of the industry's competitive advantages.
What's preventing unmanned trucks from launching?
Despite the high degree of autonomy, unmanned technology cannot yet completely exclude humans from driving, even considering the vehicles tested (levels 2–3, that is, automated ones partially requiring driver involvement). It is essential that a chauffeur is present in the cabin in case of an emergency.
Automated trucks are not yet suitable for highways with heavy traffic. I believe that in the long run the efficiency and safety of transport will be maximised by creating safe dedicated lanes and taking the shortest route.
The risk of litigation and lack of awareness of liability allocation may slow down the introduction of unmanned trucks into companies' operations. The liability of road users in the event of an accident should be outlined and new freight transport insurance standards should be proposed.
The eco-friendliness of transport solutions should not be forgotten either. Today, there are 3.2 million trucks on US roads. Meanwhile, 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from freight transport. In the United States alone, vehicles accumulate 1.8 million tonnes of microplastics per year. In addition to tyre wear, additional sources of hard abrasion are pavement (up to 50 %), brake wear (8 %) and road marking (5 %).
I believe that instead of overcoming a whole set of difficulties, it would be more effective to change the approach to green and safe transport. As the technology continues to improve and move towards fully autonomous trucks, I wonder if investors and other stakeholders will turn their attention to off-the-shelf fully autonomous solutions that, when scaled up, will help transform the freight sector.
Unmanned freight transport: solutions that work
Autonomous control systems have already proven their efficiency in the field of passenger transport. An unmanned metro in Dubai, an automated monorail in Wuhan, an unmanned railway in New Delhi, an autonomous railless tram in China's Zhuzhou district... The above ground light-rail system reduces the workload of drivers and copes well with high passenger traffic.
But for freight transport, too, it is already possible to pick up unmanned vehicles without being bound to cars.
- In Switzerland, legal regulations have been passed to allow for underground unmanned transport in order to transport goods more efficiently. In 2031, the first 70-kilometre long series of Cargo Sous Terrain underground tunnels will start receiving cargo and will connect Zurich with the western part of the country.
- Unmanned freight railway trains have already been launched by Australian mining companies Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and Roy Hill. AutoHaul's automated network allows 220 trains to transport iron ore from Western Australian mines to port docks. The total length of the route is almost 2,000 km.
- At the same time, our company relies on elevated tracks – automated freight transport of its own design and manufacture. Elevated solutions with automated control systems help to cope with various logistical tasks, even in regions with difficult terrain and high environmental requirements.
The introduction of off-the-shelf autonomous truck solutions will help companies save time and money, and create serious competition for trucks in the future.
How to make progress
Developers of unmanned solutions, like those in the transport sector, have a number of challenges to overcome on the way to fully introducing autonomous vehicles into commercial transportation.
When creating unmanned transport corridors, it is important to focus primarily on safety. For example, when driving in an underground tunnel, the possibility of breakdowns and stoppages of unmanned vehicles shall be ruled out, so that the route does not become blocked. In addition, tunnelling is not possible everywhere because of the heterogeneous bed. A combination of autonomous modes of transport is likely to be needed.
For the safe movement of unmanned vehicles on public roads, dedicated lanes with special markings and a highly detailed route map are required. The main part of freight traffic is concentrated in a few corridors, so even selective mapping will cover a significant portion of business.
It is not always possible to organise a dedicated lane or lay a new road for unmanned trucks – unlike flyover solutions, which can be located over existing infrastructure. But for elevated transport, legal documents still need to be worked out to provide for the transport of passengers and goods on the second tier. In addition, the routes to be used for the string-rail flyovers shall also be mapped on the road maps.
In conclusion
The use of vehicles with an automated control system will reduce delivery costs and improve the efficiency and safety of freight transport. But I urge those in the industry to focus on more than just autonomous trucks. Elevated as well as rail and underground modes of transport can work together as a set of solutions that can become more efficient and easier to implement.
This can be particularly relevant in regions with difficult terrain, or in the case of problems with laying new routes and organising dedicated lanes. I believe we should be more determined to develop new technologies to effectively transform the freight transport section.