FRACS et STAC (French civil aviation technical centre) partner of the winning AWARD Consortium

Toulouse, France, 2 December 2020 – The European Commission, through the H2020 framework program, has awarded a funding grant of nearly €20 million for a 29-partner strong consortium to develop and demonstrate driverless heavy-duty vehicles in harsh weather conditions for real-logistics operations.

With EasyMile as coordinator and software provider, the large-scale All Weather Autonomous Real logistics operations and Demonstrations (AWARD) project aims to bring disruptive change to the trucking industry, fleet operators, and the whole logistics sector. It will do this by contributing to the accelerated deployment of innovative, connected and automated freight transport solutions in Europe and around the world. 
Benefits of autonomous heavy vehicles

The Commission has outlined the growing need for connected and automated driving systems for heavy commercial vehicles, citing their great potential.

They can improve safety and efficiency of freight transport and make vehicle operations more comfortable. Positive impacts can be expected when highly automated systems are used in logistics operations going from hub-to-hub, including both operations in mixed traffic and in confined areas.
 
EasyMile will provide its proven driverless software, working with heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers, tier 1 and 2 technology providers, end-users, and logistics operators from factories, warehouses, ports, and airports, as well as labs and regulation entities. A cost-benefit analysis will demonstrate the added value and economic viability of automated systems in real logistics operations for users and stakeholders.
Efficiency and flexibility for heavy-duty freight operations

“Autonomous driving has the potential to revolutionize heavy-duty freight operations, making them more efficient and flexible. With our partners, the project will make the promise of driverless solutions a reality by addressing challenges such as harsh weather operations which are essential to real-world full-scale freight operations,” said Benoit Perrin, Managing Director of EasyMile. “EasyMile has built strong experience in automated driving. We’re excited our technology is at the forefront of this project.”

Actions are set to help increase the overall safety and efficiency of freight operations of individual trucks or fleets (emissions/freight ratio, fuel consumption, road occupancy, vehicle utilization, capacity of transport network) in confined areas and in mixed traffic (hub-to-hub) through innovative connected and automated driving systems. As well as show the uptake of new business models and seek to reach a total cost reduction of operations and logistics and supply chain leading to improved competitiveness of the European transport and logistics industry.
Maturity and mix of partners for results

The maturity and mix in the cooperation between leading companies and innovative, growing ones recognized for their real-world applications and expertize, as well as research organisations, paves the way for the replicability and sustainability of project results. 

They include:

Heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers

•     KAMAG, Worldwide leader for Swap body trucks
•     Kion/Linde, Worldwide Material handling vehicles provider 
•     Terberg, manufacturer of special vehicles and worldwide leader of yard and terminal trucks for ports, industry, and distribution centers
•     TLD Group, worldwide leader for airport ground support equipment and Smart Airport Systems (SAS)

Automated driving technology suppliers

•     Continental, one of the biggest automotive suppliers and expert on automated driving technologies
•     ADASKY, the leading developer and manufacturer of intelligent high-resolution, LWIR thermal cameras for ADAS and AV
•     Navtech Radar, world-leading manufacturer of High-Definition-Imaging Radar Solutions
•     Foresight, world expert in multispectral automotive vision systems and sensor fusion 

Fleet supervision and teleoperation

•     Applied Autonomy, leading provider of Smart Fleet Management systems for connected autonomous vehicles
•     Ottopia, delivering safe teleoperation

 Research organizations

•     CEREMA, expert in characterizing weather-related parameters in fog and rain
•     Linz Center of Mechatronics, UWB localization
•     AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology, user requirements analysis and design of fleet management services
•     VTT, validation of automated driving functions and sensors in arctic conditions
•     University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria – Department of Logistics

Companies involved in demonstrations of Autonomous Road Transport (ART) Autonomous Transport Systems

•     DFDS, international shipping and logistics company (port and terminal) 
•     Rotax (factory)
•     Avinor (airport)
•     DB Schenker

 
Consulting companies

•     ENIDE, delivering digital solutions for sustainable mobility and logistics
•     Testregion and Proving Ground: DigiTrans
•     Certification body for functional safety and cybersecurity with leading expertize for autonomous systems: CERTX
•     Certification and regulatory body FRACS and the STAC (French civil aviation technical centre)
•     National and international organizations with close links to the automotive and logistics industries: IRU Projects, CARA European cluster for mobility solutions and Business Upper Austria, Automobil Cluster ÖO

Membership organization 
IRU Projects works closely with IRU, the world transport organisation, by upholding the interests of commercial road freight and passenger transport operators.

The project will be rolled out from 2021 for 3 years.