IAA Transportation 2024 DLR showcases innovative vehicle concepts

Related Vendors

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA)

SIMTOS (Seoul International Machine Tool Show)

At the international trade fair for logistics, commercial vehicles, and the transport sector "IAA Transportation" in Hanover, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) showcases current projects and innovative vehicle prototypes that are embedded in its comprehensive transportation research.

From September 17 to 22, 2024, visitors to the DLR booth (Hall 13, E67) will have the opportunity to experience the cargo version of the futuristic vehicle concept U-Shift. Additionally, DLR will provide insights into its research on the functional safety of autonomous vehicles and its contribution to establishing a European data infrastructure, among other things, for pioneering mobility services.

Futuristic vehicle concept U-Shift: flexible and modular for the last mile

With the innovative vehicle concept "U-Shift," the DLR is bringing a new dynamic to logistics and the urban mobility of tomorrow. The central feature of the concept is the separation of the vehicle, the U-shaped driveboard, and the capsule-shaped structures used for transporting goods and carrying passengers.

• The driveboard contains all the expensive technical components and systems needed to operate autonomously, electrically, and quietly. For maximum cost efficiency, it is designed to be in operation around the clock.

• The significantly cheaper-to-manufacture capsules can be designed for a variety of uses: for example, as a flexible distribution center for goods and parcels, as a mobile sales outlet, or as an on-demand shuttle.

Thus, the U-Shift cleverly, efficiently, and sustainably combines several applications. At the IAA Transportation, the DLR Institute for Vehicle Concepts is showcasing a cargo variant of the U-Shift prototype. This can be used as a micro-hub, which is stocked in the warehouse accordingly and then parked at the customers' sites overnight. The loading and unloading of the cargo capsule are done at ground level. It can be loaded with Euro pallets or cage trolleys and has a total payload capacity of two tons.

Secure updates for automotive platforms

Automated driving functions are becoming increasingly important in the logistics and transportation sector. As part of this development, vehicles are becoming more and more like "rolling computers" that require regular updates. Errors in such updates already lead to high costs and extensive recall actions today.

If updates are to occur during the operation of an autonomous vehicle in the future, this poses significantly higher demands: they must function safely and be performed at the right time. To this end, DLR has developed an update process, including a reference architecture for modular software updates: An update management system first checks whether the computing platform in the vehicle has all the necessary resources for the update—whether, for example, there is sufficient computing power and storage space available. If this is the case, the new function is transferred to the computing platform in the vehicle and installed there. After successful verification, the function can then be put into operation.

At the IAA Transportation, the DLR Institute for Systems Engineering for Future Mobility is showcasing this development with a 1:10 scale model vehicle. It operates on a roller test bench and is linked to a simulation environment. The vehicle receives an update of the automatic lane recognition. This update process is graphically and interactively displayed on another monitor.

Base-X: Data integration system for mobility solutions

In the European initiative "Gaia-X," stakeholders from business, academia, and administration are developing a powerful and competitive, secure, and trustworthy data infrastructure. In this context, the "Gaia-X 4 Future Mobility" project family provides scientific foundations and practice-relevant applications for the digital transformation of the transport system. As a result, a market for digital offerings and solutions will emerge, supporting environmentally friendly and efficient mobility and logistics—for example, connected mobility services with improved quality in public transportation and automated services for the last mile.

At the IAA Transportation, the DLR Institute for AI Security provides insight into the central result of this project family: "BASE-X" is a decentralized data integration system. It seamlessly connects existing data and service infrastructures with other open data ecosystems. This significantly facilitates the exchange and sharing of data. Users can autonomously, transparently, securely, and cross-border offer and utilize data and services. BASE-X thereby supports the industry in developing interoperable and scalable solutions, promotes innovation, and strengthens the autonomy of citizens.