Capital Equipment News August 2016

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

AUGUST 2016

TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS

aimler Buses, the world’s biggest bus

manufacturer, has put a city bus into

automated operation in a real-life traf-

fic situation – a world first.

The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus with CityPilot

drove autonomously on a route of approxi-

mately 20 km in Amsterdam. On a section of

the longest bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Eu-

rope, the bus drove at speeds up to 70 km/h,

stops to the nearest centimetre at bus stops

and traffic lights, drives off again automatical-

ly, passes through tunnels, brakes for obsta-

cles or pedestrians and communicates with

traffic signals. A driver is on board to monitor

the system.

The first step towards fully automated driving

with buses in urban traffic consists of BRT

lines with separate lanes. The Future Bus

recognises whether the route is suitable for

automated driving and informs the driver ac-

cordingly. The bus driver then presses a but-

ton and CityPilot is activated.

One condition is that the driver does not press

the accelerator or brake pedal and does not

steer, because any driver activity overrules

CityPilot – the driver is always in charge of

driving and can take over at any time.

CityPilot comprises current assistance systems

as well as additional systems, some of which

have been taken over from Daimler Trucks

and further developed for urban traffic. The

equipment includes long and short-range ra-

dar, a large number of cameras and the sat-

ellite-controlled GPS navigation system. The

intelligent connectivity of

the cameras and sensors

allows a precise picture of

the surroundings and the

exact position of the bus.

CityPilot recognises traffic

lights with its sophisticated

camera system. In addition,

the vehicle communicates

via WiFi with the route in-

frastructure, receiving in-

formation on traffic-light

status. This means that the

bus can take advantage of

a ‘green wave’ of traffic

lights. In order to avoid a collision, CityPilot has

an automatic braking system that decelerates

the vehicles as required.

The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus with CityPilot

significantly enhances road safety. Thanks to

its anticipatory driving style, it improves ef-

ficiency, puts less stress on the engine and

reduces fuel consumption and emissions.

And with its smooth, fluent progress, it also

enhances passenger comfort.

The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus is much more

than just a technology carrier for autonomous

driving: For this city bus, the Daimler Buses

team has developed a specific, attractive

vision for public transport that breaks with

many conventions.

The roughly 12 m long solo bus has been built

on the basis of the global bestseller Citaro

bus. The completely low-floor bus is divided

into three areas: The ‘service’ area is at the

front near the driver; the ‘express’ area for

short journeys with a focus on standing room

and quick passenger flow is in the middle. Be-

hind that is a ‘lounge’ area where passengers

spend more time.

The cockpit is an integrated part of the whole

space. The driver receives the required infor-

mation on a large display while an electronic

ticket system dispenses with the conventional

selling and checking of tickets by the driver.

The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus with CityPilot

will supply Daimler Buses with findings for the

further development of the city bus of the fu-

ture. These will include on emission-free drive

systems, the further development of driver-as-

sistance systems and the partial automation

of driving functions (given the appropriate

legal framework), the connectivity of bus and

infrastructure such as BRT operating systems,

and the electric/electronic architecture.

BUS DRIVES SOLO

DACHSER SOUTH AFRICA NAMED FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS COMPANY OF THE YEAR

achser South Africa was named

the ‘Freight and Logistics Company

of the Year’ at the recent Transport

Africa Awards. Designed to recognise

companies that have demonstrated an

unparalleled ability to succeed and have

continually set standards of excellence, the

awards have become the blue chip mark

of success for the African transport and

infrastructure sector.

This year, a number of companies from 16

countries throughout the continent were

nominated for the various award categories.

Five finalists were selected in the ‘Freight

and Logistics Company of the Year’ catego-

ry. It was the first time that Dachser South

Africa had entered the awards. Dachser

South Africa has been operating in South

Africa and on the African continent for 38

years, with local offices in Johannesburg,

Durban, PE and Cape Town.

“We’re very proud to receive this honour

in a group of strong contenders,” says De-

tlev Duve, Dachser South Africa’s MD. “An

integral part of our approach to intelligent

logistics is to create maximum profitabili-

ty for clients through the full spectrum of

value-added logistics services. The benefit

for clients is that they are able to focus on

their core business, rather than having to

spend time and money on needless and

complex handling of inventory.” Duve says

that Dachser South Africa regards itself as

an extension of the client. “Our aim is to

provide sophisticated and streamlined lo-

gistics that are integrated into the client’s

supply chain. We view our employees as

a local extension of the client’s business.

This commitment requires a high degree

of human resource investment and a long

term view of learning about – and under-

standing – the client’s business sector and

requirements.”

According to him, the company actively

seeks innovative solutions to meet the par-

ticular requirements of each client. This is

especially relevant given that the compa-

ny has a diverse client base ranging from

suppliers of frontline healthcare equipment,

which requires continued onsite calibra-

tion, to the providers of large-scale heavy

technical equipment such as elevators and

escalators, which require mega-transporta-

tion solutions.