Title
DigitalSOW joint project - Digital test field for automated and autonomous inland shipping on the Spree-Oder Waterway (SOW)
DigitalSOW joint project - Digital test field for automated and autonomous inland shipping on the Spree-Oder Waterway (SOW)
In recent years, numerous logistics centres have been built in the immediate vicinity of the Berlin motorway ring (A10) to supply the Berlin metropolitan region. From these centres, goods are largely transported by road to the capital. Due to the predicted growth in online trade, a further increase in delivery traffic is to be expected in the future.
In order to reduce the overall economic and health damage caused by unproductive waiting times in traffic jams and impairments due to emissions on the one hand, and to ensure the supply and disposal of the Berlin metropolis on the other, politicians are working intensively on new concepts for the transport of goods in metropolitan regions.
As the metropolis of Berlin and the surrounding area are criss-crossed with main and secondary waterways, a basic infrastructure for the transport of goods by waterway is available in the region. To integrate waterway transport into multimodal logistics chains and the use of intelligent automation solutions, extensive investments in the digitalisation of this mode of transport are therefore necessary.
Parallel to the development of a digital infrastructure along the waterway, the transport units and the transport process logistics must be adapted to the new requirements of city logistics. Digital transport documents, precise ship position and environment detection, automated and autonomous driving and a suitable communication infrastructure for networking the vehicles with a control centre are important challenges in this complex of topics.
The overall objective of the project is the establishment and operation of a digital test field for the investigation, development and testing of concepts, algorithms and technologies for automated and connected driving on the Spree-Oder waterway.
A section of the Spree-Oder waterway is to be equipped with digital sensor technology for the real-time recording of the traffic situation and the waterway condition as well as for the support of ship positioning. Modern communication technologies will be installed and operated to ensure seamless data transmission between the control centre, the test field infrastructure and the test vessels.
For the testing of automated and connected shipping, new ship units will be developed and built and existing ship units of the project partners will be used. The goal is to also equip interested users of the test field with communication and positioning technology. The application scenario considered in the DigitalSOW project is the supply and disposal of the Berlin metropolitan region with small, preferably automated, shipping units. The main waterways and inland waterways in the Berlin area could make an important contribution to the topics of "city logistics" and "low-emission transport process". In order to consider the topic of automated and connected shipping as holistically as possible on the waterway, the requirements of the transport process are included in the necessary logistical equipment of the test field and in the design and construction of the new test vessels. You can download the project description (german) here.Motivated by the vision of relieving metropolitan traffic and shifting the flow of goods to waterways with zero emissions, the DigitalSOW project defined new transport process models for city logistics and looked at solutions for automated transhipment. Decentralised transhipment points and a charging infrastructure were part of the investigations. The control centre developed in the project is used to record the traffic situation and remotely control the test vehicle. The new AIS/VDES technology was used for communication with the test vehicle and for backup positioning.
On board, systems for determining the ship's position and surroundings, for backup positioning (R-mode) and for automated control were implemented. Due to delays in the completion of the test carrier, the system was tested on the waterway with the ships of the project partners "Aurora" (DLR) and "Bernhard Lampe" (University of Rostock). The University of Rostock's ship was also equipped with new drives (RIM drives) in order to harmonise the control system with the test carrier's drives.
The central component of the project was the development and production of a test carrier customised for city logistics in the Berlin metropolitan region. With the "Boris Kluge", a demonstration platform is now available for practical tests of a new, innovative type of transport via inland waterways specifically for the supply and disposal of metropolitan regions. The modular test vehicle consists of a bow and stern section that can operate both individually and in combination. They can be coupled and decoupled to form larger units and are equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology.
Length overall: 14,00 m
Width overall: 6,06 m
Draught (max.): 0,61 m
Side height: 1,20 m
Power stern section: Emission-free electric drive 2 x 25 kW
Battery capacity stern section: 4 x 96V with 840Ah each
Power bow section: Emission-free electric drive 2 x 5 kW
Battery capacity bow section: 4 x 48V with 200Ah each
The future focus will be on using the "Boris Kluge" to research and test emission-free, intelligently networked and autonomous vehicles. Initial practical trials are planned in the SensorSOW (BMDV, DTW2) and A-SWARM II (BMWK) projects. Further projects and tests with users from the logistics sector are planned.
Further information on the project results can be found in the download area.
06/2021 - 06/2024
4.2 million € funding from the BMDV (formerly BMVI)
The DigitalSOW project is funded by the Federal ministry for digital and transport (BMDV) within the framework of the funding guideline for investments for the development of digital test fields on federal waterways.
Alberding GmbH Ludwig-Witthöft-Str. 14 15745 Wildau
Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Alberding
Managing Director
Tel.: +49 (0) 3375 25198 00
ja@alberding.eu
https://www.alberding.eu/
German Aerospace Center
Institute of Communications and Navigation | Nautical Systems
Kalkhorstweg 53
17235 Neustrelitz
Contact:
Dr.rer.nat. Ralf Ziebold
Group Leader Multi Sensor Systems
Tel.: +49 (0) 3981 480 195
ralf.ziebold@dlr.de
https://www.dlr.de/kn/en
Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam GmbH
Marquardter Chaussee 100
14469 Potsdam
Contact:
Dr.-Ing. Christian Masilge
Managing Director
Tel.: + 49 (0) 331 56712-0
info@sva-potsdam.de
https://www.sva-potsdam.de/en/
Technische Universität Berlin
Institute of land and sea transport systems | Department of Design and Operation of Maritime Systems
Straße des 17. Juni 135
10623 Berlin
Contact:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerd Holbach
Head of Department
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 314-21417
gerd.holbach@tu-berlin.de
https://www.marsys.tu-berlin.de/
University of Rostock
Institute of Automation Technology
Richard-Wagner-Straße 31 / Haus 8
18119 Rostock-Warnemünde
Contact:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Jeinsch
Professor
Tel.: + 49 (0) 381 498-7701
torsten.jeinsch@uni-rostock.de
https://www.rt.uni-rostock.de/
Association for European Inland Navigation and Waterways
Dammstraße 15-17
47119 Duisburg
Contact:
Michael Seifert
Research associate
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 4036 6618
seifert@vbw-ev.de
http://www.vbw-ev.de/
Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV)
Federal Association of Public Inland Ports e. V.
BEHALA – Berliner Hafen- und Lagerhausgesellschaft mbH
Lutra GmbH - Port of Königs Wusterhausen
FGL Handelsgesellschaft mbH (AGRAVIS Raiffeisen-Gruppe)
Reederei Ed Line GmbH
Ministerium für Infrastruktur des Landes Brandenburg (MIL)
Economic Development Agency Brandenburg (WFBB)
Administrative district of Dahme Spreewald (LDS)