IUCRC Planning Grant IUPUI: Center for Electrified and Autonomous Transportation in Agile Freight Supply Chains (CEATAFS)

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

This project will plan the formation of a new Center for Electrified and Autonomous Transportation in Agile Freight Supply Chains (CEATAFS) to research emerging technologies in connected, electrified, and autonomous trucking and freight logistics networks and to help build efficient, safe, agile, and sustainable supply chain systems. Members will be recruited from small high-tech start-ups, large automotive corporations, third-party logistics providers, trucking technology platforms, network communications providers, motor carrier fleets, retail chain-stores, e-commerce pioneers, federal research labs, sea and inland ports, and state transportation departments. These diverse stakeholders would fund and guide CEATAFS's transdisciplinary research, led by faculty members in engineering, business, informatics, and public policy at two university sites. CEATAFS research can help solve major national challenges in road transportation and supply-chains, such as crash deaths and injuries, difficult trucking lifestyle, and logistics logjams that disrupt the economy. Research-based solutions will help four societal groups: drivers and vehicle operators, vulnerable road users, consumers and shippers, and passengers sharing roads with freight. Society can benefit from reduced accidents, emissions, fuel use, and cost of goods transport. Increased lane capacity and extended time operation can improve roadway utilization. Improved work conditions may attract more diverse drivers as the nature and future of work - especially truck driving - will be transformed with new roles for human operators interacting with automated systems. The accelerated deployment of freight mobility solutions can help create new global market opportunities for US industries and strengthen US leadership in supply-chain innovations and autonomous trucking. CEATAFS will also train the next generation of engineers, researchers, and managers in electrified and autonomous systems, especially in the Midwest. Outreach programs to broaden participation in engineering and related fields will engage with local organizations, and launch an autonomous electric vehicle racing competition for youth. Research opportunities for undergraduates will be expanded, including industry internships. CEATAFS will be planned to advance research in freight management, supply chain planning, agile logistics, platooning/caravanning, remotely driven and driverless trucks, long-haul electrification, geofenced and smart infrastructure, and last-mile services. CEATAFS research will help scale up the application of connected, electrified, and autonomous vehicles in the logistics and trucking industries, transforming digitally enabled supply chains and increasing e-commerce efficiency. A two-day planning workshop will be held to engage and attract industry members to further refine the research concepts, establish value propositions, and develop a multidisciplinary research agenda aligned with industry members' innovation and technology interests. Potential topics that CEATAFS may investigate include: (i) autonomous vehicle adoption models and business cases; (ii) operational strategies such as platooning and caravanning; (iii) vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems for efficient autonomous operation; (iv) electrification of long-haul trucking with highly durable fuel-cells and optimal deployment of charging stations; and (v) strategies for overcoming the transportation workforce deficit. Conceptual and operational challenges of deploying electric and autonomous freight transportation systems will be explored by converging knowledge in engineering analysis, behavioral sciences, and business analytics. Significant new knowledge will be generated in interdisciplinary fields such as cooperative multi-agent control, reliability assessment, automotive powertrain design, vehicle design, systems engineering, agile logistics, energy management, human-machine interaction, and vehicle data communication. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.