Vlissingan, Netherlands: Lineage is trialiing driverless tugs in the port of Vlissingan.
Project Living Lab Autonomous Transport Zeeland was developed as an open innovation system in which logistics companies, technology providers for autonomous vehicles, road authorities and knowledge institutions jointly innovated and experimented with autonomous vehicles with mixed traffic in real-life logistics operations and on public roads.
The project aimed to achieve driverless transport from the yard to the quay at Lineage’s site in Vlissingen, integrated with lineage’s operational processes. Lineage provided an opportunity for the developers, Terberg and EasyMile, to put the autonomous trucks into pilot-use.
In December 2023, the second stage of the project was completed. The collaborative project involved the developers of the truck; Terberg Benschop, technology provider EasyMile and Lineage as the site operator, with the goal of getting an autonomous truck can drive safely in a mixed traffic container terminal.
“We were therefore very keen to join this fantastic opportunity and on-going pilot,” said Mark Ketelaar, RVP the Netherlands, “The collaboration between Terberg, Lineage and EasyMile is crucial for the project’s potential success, highlighting the importance of coordination and synergy among all stakeholders.”
The key objective of PoC2 [the second stage of the pilot] is to drive with a loaded container on the to any (predefined) rubber tyred gantry crane transfer points for container handling.
At the second stage it was possible to:
- transportation of loaded containers
- availability and accessibility of all predefined crane transfer points
- less manual handlings for safety driver.
There was an improvement in the speed and system stability of the vehicle. Development of new potential features have already started and the next step will be to continue testing with reverse driving, from safety driver to remote operation to not having any person in the cabin and improving performance during adverse weather conditions, like rain and fog.
“Proof of Concept 2 represented a significant step forward in the development of autonomous transportation solutions, aiming to enhance efficiency, safety and productivity in container terminal operations. Through collaborative efforts and iterative testing and refinement, PoC2 aims to bring the project closer to its ultimate goal of autonomous transport deployment,” Lineage says.
