IUCRC Planning Grant The University of Memphis: Center for Electrified and Autonomous Transportation in Agile Freight Supply-Chains (CEATAFS)

该项目将计划成立一个新的敏捷货运供应链电气化和自主运输中心（CEATAFS），以研究互联、电气化和自主卡车运输和货运物流网络的新兴技术，并帮助建立高效、安全、敏捷和可持续的供应链系统。成员将从小型高科技初创企业、大型汽车公司、第三方物流提供商、卡车运输技术平台、网络通信提供商、汽车运输车队、零售连锁店、电子商务先驱、联邦研究实验室、海港和内陆港口以及州交通部门招募。这些不同的利益相关者将资助和指导CEATAFS的跨学科研究，由两所大学的工程，商业，信息学和公共政策教师领导。CEATAFS的研究可以帮助解决道路运输和供应链中的重大国家挑战，例如碰撞死亡和受伤，艰难的卡车运输生活方式以及扰乱经济的物流堵塞。基于研究的解决方案将帮助四个社会群体：驾驶员和车辆运营商、弱势道路使用者、消费者和托运人以及与货物共享道路的乘客。社会可以从减少事故、排放、燃料使用和货物运输成本中受益。增加车道通行能力和延长运营时间可以提高道路利用率。工作条件的改善可能会吸引更多不同的司机，因为工作的性质和未来-特别是卡车驾驶-将随着人类操作员与自动化系统交互的新角色而改变。加速部署货运移动解决方案有助于为美国工业创造新的全球市场机会，并加强美国在供应链创新和自动卡车运输方面的领导地位。CEATAFS还将培训电气化和自动化系统的下一代工程师，研究人员和管理人员，特别是在中西部。扩大工程和相关领域参与的外联计划将与当地组织合作，并为青年推出自动电动汽车赛车比赛。本科生的研究机会将扩大，包括行业实习。CEATAFS将计划推进货运管理、供应链规划、敏捷物流、车队/大篷车、远程驾驶和无人驾驶卡车、长途电气化、地理围栏和智能基础设施以及最后一英里服务等方面的研究。CEATAFS的研究将有助于扩大互联、电气化和自动驾驶汽车在物流和卡车运输行业的应用，改变数字化供应链，提高电子商务效率。为期两天的规划工作坊将举行，以吸引和吸引业界成员进一步完善研究概念，建立价值主张，并制定符合业界成员创新和技术利益的多学科研究议程。CEATAFS可能调查的潜在主题包括：（i）自动驾驶汽车采用模型和商业案例;（ii）运营策略，如队列和大篷车;（iii）车辆到车辆和车辆到基础设施的通信系统，以实现高效的自动驾驶;（iv）长途卡车运输的电气化，高度耐用的燃料电池和充电站的最佳部署;以及（v）克服运输劳动力短缺的战略。部署电动和自动货运系统的概念和运营挑战将通过融合工程分析，行为科学和业务分析方面的知识进行探索。重要的新知识将产生在跨学科领域，如合作多智能体控制，可靠性评估，汽车动力系统设计，车辆设计，系统工程，敏捷物流，能源管理，人机交互，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

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.