VERA, Volvo Truck’s autonomous, electric and connected vehicle, will undertake its first operation in collaboration with DFDS Group, transporting goods from its logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg.
Mikael Karlsson, vice president of autonomous solutions at Volvo Trucks, said: “Now we have the opportunity to implement VERA in an ideal setting and further develop her potential for similar operations.”
The operation will show how VERA can be used in the working world to enable a connected system for an efficient, flexible and sustainable flow of goods from DFDS’ logistics centre for global distribution, to the port.
“It will be moving containerised goods with mixed cargo, and if this test goes well, we aim to scale-up the solution,” Karlsson added.
Although a date for the test is yet to be set, Volvo Trucks hopes to implement a connected system of several VERA monitored by one control room after it has been carried out.
Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS said: “This collaboration will help us develop a long-term solution for receiving autonomous vehicles arriving at our gates, benefitting our customers, the environment and our business.”
CM covered VERA’s launch at the Manufacturers Innovation Summit in Berlin last September. Designed specifically for short-distance journeys, it’s powered by a driveline derived from Volvo’s eFL and eFE, giving it a range of over 100km with a top speed of 25mph.
After the trial, Volvo hopes to further develop VERA’s technology and exploring how it can be used within existing infrastructures before it’s fully-operational, stating it could support “today’s transport solutions”.
