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动运输中心（CEATAFS），以研究互联、电气化和自动驾驶卡车和货运物流网络中的新兴技术，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、海洋和内陆港口以及州运输部门招募。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、信息学和公共政策专业的教师领导。CEATAFS的研究可以帮助解决道路运输和供应链方面的重大国家挑战，如车祸伤亡、艰难的卡车运输生活方式以及扰乱经济的物流拥堵。基于研究的解决方案将帮助四个社会群体：司机和车辆操作员、弱势道路使用者、消费者和托运人，以及与货物共用道路的乘客。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。增加车道容量和延长行车时间可以提高道路利用率。改善的工作条件可能会吸引更多不同类型的司机，因为工作的性质和未来——尤其是卡车驾驶——将随着人类操作员与自动化系统互动的新角色而改变。货运移动解决方案的加速部署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驾驶卡车运输方面的领导地位。CEATAFS还将培训下一代电气化和自动驾驶系统的工程师、研究人员和管理人员，特别是在中西部地区。为了扩大工程及相关领域的参与，将与地方团体合作开展外展活动，并为青少年举办自动驾驶电动汽车比赛。将扩大本科生的研究机会，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/房车、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方面的研究。CEATAFS的研究将有助于扩大联网、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。将举办为期两天的规划工作坊，吸引业界人士参与，进一步完善研究概念，确立价值主张，并制定符合业界人士创新和科技兴趣的多学科研究议程。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）行动策略，例如排队和大篷车；（iii）高效自主运行的车对车和车对基础设施通信系统；（iv）利用高度耐用的燃料电池和优化充电站的部署，实现长途卡车的电气化；（五）克服运输劳动力短缺的战略。将通过工程分析、行为科学和商业分析的知识融合，探索部署电动和自动货运系统的概念和操作挑战。跨学科领域将产生重要的新知识，如协作多智能体控制、可靠性评估、汽车动力总成设计、车辆设计、系统工程、敏捷物流、能源管理、人机交互和车辆数据通信。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.