Can you tell us a bit about your organization and its core mission?
We are MOVE, the Transport System Planning research unit within the TU Wien. We deal with transport, mobility and logistics in the context of spatial development, including interactions with social, technological and economic aspects in teaching and research. Our basic understanding integrates a demand and supply-oriented perspective, and the focus of our research activities is based on social and organisational innovations in the field of mobility and transport. MOVE draws on a broad range of methodological expertise, ranging from quantitative and qualitative methods of social research to mobility communication and economic and ecological evaluation methods that are applied in complex research designs.
Can you describe any unique contributions or innovations MOVE has brought to the project?
In TRACE, we are developing a Suitability Framework for the infrastructural and spatial readiness of Connected and Automated Vehicles. The Framework has two components: 1) Drivability: a vehicle-specific assessment of automation readiness of street spaces to identify areas in which automation can work easily and 2) Compatibility: an assessment of the effects on streets, inhabitants and cities in general as a result of automated vehicles being introduced. Additionally, a freight demand model is used to estimate the supply volume for each street.
What are some of the key challenges you foresee in the project, and how do you plan to address them?
Balancing technological advancements in last mile logistics delivery with sustainable practices and minimizing the social and environmental impact can be challenging. Through the incorporation of our Suitability Framework, we plan to provide a spatial planning perspective, evaluating the current system using data collected from the three pilot countries: Italy, Slovenia and Greece. Our analysis will be used as an informational basis for considerations related to the infrastructure and the placement of automated vehicles. Nonetheless, the sustainability framework’s users (e.g., municipalities, logistic companies, automated vehicle manufacturers) are asked to weigh the different factors. The conclusions drawn are up to the users and their perspective, though (e.g., infrastructure investments vs. product development).
What has been the most rewarding aspect of being part of the TRACE project?
The collaborative nature of the TRACE project, producing something unique together and utilizing the strengths of 28 different international partners is rewarding. As a team, the consortium has committed to producing an outcome greater than one that would be developed individually. This opportunity to work with a diverse and talented team, learning from others, and contributing to a collaborative effort has been great.
If you had to describe the TRACE project in three words, what would they be?
Pilot, Pilot, Pilot
What are the next steps for MOVE within the TRACE project?
As we currently move towards piloting our developed solutions on the ground in three different European countries, we at MOVE are thrilled to validate and calibrate our Suitability Framework and its components, as well as to explore the transferability and replicability of our TRACE-approach towards other cities for less impactful logistics traffic in cities.
What personally excites you the most about the TRACE project?
We are most excited for the actual demonstrations to happen. This is when all different components and aspects come together and need to work together. While challenging, this is also the most exciting moment in the project. Although the pilot demonstration’s main aim is to put the TRACE platform into praxis, we, as urban planners, are interested in the effect of totally novel actors on street usage. How do pedestrians react to automated delivery vehicles on the sidewalk? Are spatial negotiation processes taking place? And what can we learn from this to improve the Suitability Framework?