BETTER CYCLING OPTIONS THANKS TO RESEARCH INTO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Snow, ice, wet leaves and gravel. There are lots of reasons why fewer people cycle in winter. Semcon will be responsible for part of the technical solution in a new research project aiming to examine how autonomous work vehicles can improve the accessibility of footpaths and cycle paths. More people may be persuaded to cycle all year round.
The purpose of this project, headed by research institute RISE, is to examine options for automated road management, including snow clearance and maintenance of cycle paths and other facilities. There is much to be gained from such a project:
- greater accessibility
- fewer accidents
- reduced costs to society
- improved quality of maintenance work
One important element of this project involves looking at how work vehicles interact with their surroundings – cyclists and pedestrians, for example – and traffic management centres.
“This project will give us the opportunity to operate in a wider context and look at a system solution where our cutting-edge technical expertise from previous projects will come in very handy. We will also help to ensure that more cyclists can cycle safely,” says Anne Piegsa, the team manager coordinating Semcon’s participation in the project.
Semcon is contributing expertise in the fields of autonomy and software to the research project. This includes the sensor systems and smart algorithms that interpret the surroundings and what the vehicle “sees”, but it also includes how the vehicle navigates independently on the basis of this information. Smaller tractors are the type of vehicle that the project will be using, and these can be deployed for various tasks all year round depending on their equipment levels.
The research project, which is being financed by InfraSweden2030 and the project partners, will be continuing for just over two years. The objective is to conclude the project with actual demonstrations. The project also involves looking more closely at the need to adapt infrastructure for automated road management, as well as the options for autonomous management and maintenance of roundabouts and junctions, for instance.
This project is being implemented as part of a partnership involving the academic community, authorities, service companies, contractors and product developers. Partners besides Semcon include the Swedish Transport Administration, RISE, Chalmers Industriteknik, Skanska, Peab, Svevia, Svensk Markservice, AstaZero, Lundberg Hymas, Alkit Communications and Teade.
Read more about Semcon’s offer in Applied Autonomy
For more information, please contact:
Per Nilsson, head of communications and marketing, Semcon
Tel.: +46 (0)739 737 200 Email: per.nilsson@semcon.com
Semcon is an international technology company that develops products based on human needs and behaviours. We strengthen our customers’ competitiveness by always starting from the end user, because the person who knows most about the user’s needs creates the best products and the clearest benefits to humans. Semcon collaborates mainly with companies in the automotive, industry, energy and life science sectors. With more than 2,000 specialised employees, Semcon has the ability to take care of the entire product development cycle, from strategy and technology development to design and product information. Semcon was founded in Sweden in 1980 and has offices in over 30 locations in eight different countries. In 2017, the Group reported annual sales of SEK 1.8 billion. Read more on www.semcon.com
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