Transport Management

Transport Management and Technology, Distribution Management, Freight, Vehicle Routing & Scheduling Software and Load Planning.

Towards autonomous, urban logistics

How can we ensure that future urban logistics is emission-free, economically viable and attractive for all generations? The aim of efeuCampus located in the Karlsruhe technology region is to create a unique urban reference district for autonomous mobility of goods. The lighthouse project funded by the EU and the German Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg successfully kicked off in Bruchsal, Germany, in July. The PTV Group is one of the six innovation partners.

In times of steadily growing online trade, the distribution of goods – especially on the last mile – is becoming an ever-greater challenge. Congestion as well as air and noise pollution are increasingly becoming a problem. To counteract this, an experimental laboratory is now being set up in a real urban district, a former barracks site with around 240 inhabitants, offices, a school, etc. The aim is to develop and test pioneering supply and disposal systems for parcel and waste handling. For example, this includes the use of autonomous robotic vehicles for delivery.

“We are looking forward to supporting this groundbreaking project with our solutions and expertise,” says Marcel Huschebeck, Logistics Research Portfolio Manager, who is managing the project on the PTV side. “Our task will be to analyse the transport planning aspects and integrate this area-based solution into existing distribution structures. In order to enable optimised route planning, we will adapt our software to the framework requirements of the efeuCampus, for example.”

“With this visionary innovation project, we have our fingers on the pulse of mobility, aiming at freight transport in urban areas that is emission-free, economically viable and attractive for all generations,” says Bruchsal’s Mayor Cornelia Petzold-Schick.

For the research project ‘efeuCampus’ (efeu: eco-friendly experimental urban logistics), six partners have joined forces to create a consortium on behalf of the city of Bruchsal, that is supported by the TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe (TRK). Members of the consortium include the PTV Group, the Bruchsal-based technology company SEW Eurodrive, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, the Research Centre for Computer Science and the service company b.i.g. The project is funded by grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) ‘Innovation and Energy’ and the Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Additional information: https://efeucampus-bruchsal.de/