Swarm intelligence in the next seat

The year is 1900, and Fifth Avenue in New York is a confusing maze of traffic: Carriages and horse manure close together, a busy hustle and bustle of merchants and passers-by, in between delivery men, overtired carters. This is how one imagines the overflowing traffic situation in the Big Apple. Perhaps a "T-Ford" car is already chugging along somewhere. Some 13 years later, the streets of the big city are unrecognizable.

Cars and the first vans follow each other, pedestrians are left with only sidewalks. A single carriage may still be standing dusty in an outer district. That's how fast a technology shift can go. - Stefan Myhrberg, Business Development Manager Connected Transport at Ericsson, is convinced that we are facing just such a profound change in mobility today:

"The transportation of people and goods is in the process of being revolutionized thanks to new possibilities for connectivity and automation. "The prerequisite for this is comprehensive cooperation between all partners involved in the transport ecosystem. On the technical side, 5G wireless technology is becoming more important: the latest generation of mobile networks is capable of processing huge volumes of data with significantly lower latency times and linking countless devices in the Internet of Things.

This not only brings advantages in the globally corresponding supply chain. Technological development could completely redefine our mobility and related consumption channels.

Digital mileage boots
Until now, manpower and fuel have had the greatest influence on traffic. According to Frost and Sullivan's "Analysis on the future of logistics", data is now taking on the decisive role in traffic management. This means not only order data, but also real-time data on end-users.

"Of Drivers and Driven."

end customers and the respective means of transport used. The main goal is immediate availability. However, sub-goals are also to be able to optimise task forces and the fleet.

Thus, there are first patents from Amazon, which want to transport products as close to the customer as possible. As soon as someone has clicked on something or ordered something, the delivery is completed. In this way, the "Same Day Delivery" offered today could be completed to a "Same Hour Delivery" in the future. However, such anticipatory delivery models do not yet bear witness to artificial intelligence; they rely more on the decentralization of freight routes.

"I can imagine certain goods being sent to urban areas, with residents consuming those goods or products on a regular basis," says Patrick Kessler, president of the Swiss Mail Order Association. Instead of storing goods in a large centre for days on end, the transport world uses smaller, de-centralised logistics hubs.

At the 19th asut Colloquium in Bern, there were not only insights into "Future Mobility". The presentations and topics revolved around "Drivers and Driven" and intelligent forms of delivery.

Fleet Management 2.0
Helmut Scholze, Partner ATKearney, spoke about how intelligent mobility concepts are making large cities in the Middle East, which are on the brink of traffic collapse, fit again. ATKearney works with leading transport and delivery companies (Metro, light rail, etc.) not only to make urban transport routes safer, but also to coordinate them more efficiently in terms of peak performance.

Particularly over longer, sometimes extreme distances, it is important to optimise fleets and routes for road users.

For example, there are initial initiatives to control delivery fleets via cloud systems in order to shorten delivery routes, and to determine real-time conclusions about traffic jams, construction sites, and certainly also about the status of goods or maintenance work on the objects in transit. For longer journeys through the desert, for example, Volvo is testing a so-called "truck platooning" system to limit the trucks' diesel consumption and wear and tear.

The truck in front on a route communicates with connected trucks. In this way, the truck in front can exchange information with an entire convoy using digital, intelligent radio technology. If the first truck brakes, the others would brake in a reaction time of 0.2 seconds. According to Volvo, which is already testing driverless "on-demand" convoys in Europe, a human would have a worse reaction time of one second.

However, it is not only a matter of such competences, but also of making the best possible use of wind shadows or climatic conditions, it is said. There was some disagreement at the conference in Bern about the impact that such initiatives could have on the life of suburban areas that are not well developed. In a discussion round, it was said on the one hand:

"Trucks or intelligent parcel conveyors are better suited for regular deliveries on standard routes. Drones could be used where other means of transport do not suffice."

"Traffic is more digital than ever."

Healthy added value?
A trend that relates to swarm intelligence could become established in freight stations and cargo zones in the near future. Rolling stock is programmed to load and unload without consuming a lot of resources and energy. In the presentation by Stefan Myhrberg, Ericsson AB, Sweden, it was said that certain procedures and processes are already being combined by "machine learning" - the electronically equipped carriers are on the move much faster thanks to 5G.

Bernhard Meier, Delegate Public Affairs and Regulation, SBB AG, was nevertheless cautious about robot-driven vehicles. Bernhard Meier re sumed: "Even if technology and business dynamics offer a faster approach: Without actual cooperation and increased acceptance by customers, we are blocking ourselves."

Mobility, said Prof. Wolfgang Hense ler, Creative Managing Director Sensory-Minds GmbH, should therefore not only be thought of in a new way, but also in a user-centred way. But how could this be done? asut (see box on the right) regularly addresses the conditions and necessary technical measures that the automotive world should also use in a new social context.

Transport is more digital than ever. In the course of these changes, new offers and providers are circulating - and not only in urban areas. In the process, the value-added components are shifting not only from pure transport to real-time information services, but also from efficient key data to - perhaps - "healthy" added value in the increasingly dense global village.