SAFE20

The automation of depots (e.g., logistics centers, factory premises, ports, and airports) will gain in importance in the coming years and play a major economic role. Its technical feasibility has already been demonstrated in individual applications. However, a comprehensive safety concept for regular operation that ensures efficient, economical processes and is coordinated with the licensing authorities is still lacking.

The aim of the SAFE20 project was to develop and implement a safety concept that would, for the first time, allow fully automated vehicles to operate regularly at depots at speeds of at least 20 km/h in mixed traffic. Legally bindingand safety-oriented requirements were developed for the overall system consisting of at least one vehicle and a depot automation zone, as well as for the technologies implemented (e. g., sensors, actuators, control units, software, and algorithms).

The project has enabled significant progress in areas that were previously considered obstacles to automated operation in depots. The achievements include:

• A comprehensive safety concept describing and defining the necessary use cases,
• Sensor technology based on this concept, especially in the near field with ranges of 20 m and more,
• Increased operating speed up to an average of 20 km/h,
• A safe emergency braking system for depot operations at speeds above 20 km/h,
• Standardization of an comprehensive safety concept consisting of depot and vehicle components,
• Recognition by the relevant approval authorities (e. g., employers' liability insurance association).

Developing the safety concept resulted in a comprehensive list and analysis of the necessary process steps to be taken into account in automated operation. This list formed the basis for the project's consideration of the functional safety requirements for each process step and provided the foundation for transferring these findings to other depots.

In summary, many improvements and new solutions have emerged which, combined with the experience gained in the field trial, will enable the introduction of the first commercial (partial) solutions in the next steps.

The open-source framework helyOS^® developed at Fraunhofer IVI was used in the project to network the three test vehicles and enable the integration of innovative services for the reliable and optimally coordinated planning of all driving tasks.

Based on helyOS^® and extended route and path planning services from the TruckTrix^® family, software was developed that fully automatically translates logistics tasks into machine-interpretable missions. The VDA5050 standard for driverless transport systems and mobile robots was implemented for communication between vehicles and the control center.