The Physical Internet: an open logistics system which pursues physical, digital and operational interconnectivity trough clustering data, interfaces, protocols, etc. VIL participates the European project SENSE which aims to use the Physical Internet to achieve co-modal transport services on a European level, within a well synchronizes, intelligent and seamless network, and thereby give optimal support to the supply chain.
Self-driving electric vehicles: they’re already undergoing thorough testing for passenger transport. Can these self-driving vehicles also be used to carry goods in logistics operations, specifically in the context of urban logistics? This futuristic project begins by setting out the requirements.
Low power wide area networks (LPWAN) such as Sigfox or LoRa could well play a major role in the future. VIL will investigate what these wireless, energy-efficient networks could mean for tracking and monitoring assets and high value goods.
Through this project, in conjunction with the road haulage sector, VIL aims to design a costing model that reflects the actual profitability of every transport order carried out.
With Crowd Logistics, private individuals or semi-professionals are used to transport goods. What business models can apply to this? What are the legal implications? How can this be integrated into business logistics and what is its added value, both for logistical actors and for society in general?
Flexible transport robots, or Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), show great potential. The new generation of transport robots are flexible and compact and have no impact on infrastructure. Some also have a fully autonomous location system on board. In which warehouse operations can they be used?
In recent months, a great deal has been said and written about parcel delivery using drones. However, large-scale use of drones for this purpose remains a pipe dream. Drones which collect stock from a warehouse or monitor materials and equipment in a yard offer more opportunities in the short term. Good reasons for VIL to launch a project focussing on the use of drones – or flying robots – in a logistics environment.
Cobots are robots that can easily be taught tasks so that they can be deployed simply and quickly, at a low investment cost. Through the ‘Cobots in Logistics’ project, VIL aims to enable the logistics sector to acquire knowledge and practical experience of the possibilities of these flexible service robots.
The boom in wearable technologies, especially smart glasses, offers opportunities for carrying out certain logistical tasks more efficiently and accurately, in a highly user-friendly manner. This project aims to make the potential and opportunities of these technologies clear and to test them.
