Vera, Volvo Trucks’ electric, connected, and
autonomous vehicle has been given its first assignment: to transport goods from
a logistics center to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. The result of a new collaboration
between Volvo Trucks and ferry and logistics company DFDS, the assignment will
allow Vera to prove its worth in a real-life application by being part of a
connected system for the continuous distribution of goods across the world.
The Vera, which shares its powertrain with the existing
FL Electric and FE Electric trucks, is designed for repetitive assignments in
logistics centers, factories, and ports, and Volvo says it can transport large
volumes of goods with high precision over short distances.
Volvo Trucks wants to implement a connected system
consisting of several Vera vehicles driving at up to 40 km/h while
monitored by a control tower. The goal is to enable “a seamless and constant
flow responsive to demands on greater efficiency, flexibility, and
sustainability.” The project is a first step towards implementing Vera in a
real transport assignment on pre-defined public roads in an industrial area.
The company will continue to develop the autonomous
transport solution before it can be fully operational. “Autonomous transports
with low noise levels and zero exhaust emissions have an important role to play
in the future of logistics and will benefit both business and society. We see
this collaboration as an important start and want to drive progress in this
area,” Mikael Karlsson added.
