Last Mile/First Mile EVA Blueprint

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The Low Speed Autonomous Electric Vehicle system

The deployment of an operational low-speed, autonomous electric vehicle system for a real-world, useful deployment requires much more than finding an electric vehicle, choosing autonomous software and combining them on a street, but rather there is an entire mini-ecosystem that needs to be incubated and managed. This blueprint will describe those various steps and elements and weave them together into a both a timeline and a description of an integrated system that better enables and supports one or more vibrant communities.

The blueprint leading to deployment of a real-world, useful, pilot contains roughly the following major steps:

• Identify the problem (gather community requirements)
• Create a solution vision & study/choose/map a site
• Design pilot concept
• Choose system components (vehicle, autonomous solution, system tester…)
• Build out partner ecosystem
• Build, integrate, and test system
• Operate pilot and learn from experience
• Manage optics & long-term community perception

The following sections are each of those elements, taken one by one. In addition, there is a separate section on the varied interactions likely with the municipality involved.

Identify the problem (gather community requirements)

The first step is to identify at least one real world problem whose solution or mitigation is the goal of the eventual production deployment. A demonstration of technical capabilities without a target problem might be of fleeting interest but the wide range of options becoming available for each of the major technical & operational components (Vehicle, Autonomous Systems, ticketing, communities served, geographic restrictions, etc.) makes it very unlikely that an arbitrarily chosen set of system components suitable for a demo will be readily deployable for an eventual end solution. Key elements to consider in creating the larger strategic goal include:

• Key objective(s) desired: Reduction in traffic congestion? Reduction in carbon footprint? Creating a new mobility option for an underserved community?
• Moving people or goods?
  • If people, why, when, and how often are they moving.
    • Commuting to/from work/school/shopping/etc.?
    • Transport within a facility?
    • Scenic loop?
  • If people, what is the profile of the user base?
    • Working adults?
    • School children?
    • Physically challenged?
    • Military personnel on a base?
  • If goods, why/when are they moving? How often? How large are deliveries?
    • Deliveries of supplies to commercial entities?
    • Tight commercial center?
    • Movement within a distribution center?

The net result should be a relatively high-level, concise statement of purpose that can be used to drive the selection of key components and solution elements.

Create vision & study/choose/map a site

Describe considerations

• Public, semi-public, or private roads.
• Distance, geography, hours of operation, speed and other road considerations.
• Regulatory barriers.
• Communities to be served.

Design Pilot concept

Once a site is chosen and mapped, decide on the outline of the pilot, making choices for the following considerations:

• Size of pilot (number of vehicles, hours of service, types of service, length of pilot)
• Attended or unattended vehicles.
• Paid or unpaid service.
• Distance, geography, hours of operation, speed and other road considerations?
• Regulatory barriers.
• Is the service subsidized or for profit?
  • If for profit, is there a need for on-board ticketing?

Put the elements in place and execute….

Choose system components

Create a system to execute the vision and choose the right combination of technology.

• Vehicle provider
  • Describe range of vehicles.
• Autonomous software
  • Describe range of solutions.
• Routing software
  • What should this include?
• Other software & services
  • Describe range of solutions.
• System tester
  • Test tracks, on-street testing…
• System integrator
  • Describe range of solutions.

Build out partner ecosystem

With a strategic vision & a technical solution in place, build a partner ecosystem with both elements. Common partners that should be identified early in the process are:

• Solution beneficiary, such as a city or urban renewal district or military base or commercial entity such as a warehouse or a consortium of restaurants looking for nightly supply deliveries
• Vehicle provider: Vehicle manufacturers are now developing and selling a wide range of electric vehicles suitable for autonomous deployments: cars, mini-trucks/vans, buses small and not so small
• Autonomous software provider (if not integrated in the vehicle)
• Solution Integrator
• Product deployment operator – the entity that will be operating the eventual solution on a permanent basis.
• Local regulatory authority – may or may not be the same as the solution beneficiary.

Not all partners are necessary in all phases, but identifying the key players upfront is critical. Of particular importance is engaging with the local regulatory authority early in the process. Most early autonomous deployments will need to resolve barriers, force the creation of new policies, gain buy-in around traffic and safety concerns.

Build, integrate & test solution

Put the elements in place and execute….

Operate pilot & learn from experience

Operating an autonomous vehicle transit system in production (regular, reliable transit of goods or people for a useful reason) requires the system operator to resolve a unique set of issues and to provide a broad set of services, many of which are different for an autonomous system than a system that is staffed. Some of those key differential items are:

• Regulatory compliance - In many cases, regulations for operating autonomous vehicles will not exist or will be explicitly forbidden. Early work with local regulatory bodies is highly recommended.
• People/goods security -
• Cyber security -
• Insurance & liability -
• Secure ticketing -
• Optics - Making sure that the communities the system operates in are well-informed and educated about the safety of the system.
• Interoperating with other last mile/first solution components (bikes, walking, rideshare, public transit, etc.)
• Reporting

Success will be measured….

Manage optics and long-term community perception

There is likely to be upfront and, potentially ongoing, resistance and concerns about AV pilots and product deployments. Concerns about safety are a given and will need to be managed upfront, through a pilot, and well into production phase. It is necessary….

Municipality

Municipalities, generally speaking, can have any combination of four roles in a last mile/first mile solution. BTW, in this context, “municipality” includes both traditionally defined such as cities, counties, and metro areas, but also could be military complexes, urban renewal districts, master-planned communities, airports, and/or tightly-knit neighborhoods. They can be any combination of

• Solution beneficiary - The municipality is one of the principal beneficiaries of the solution (it does not have to be only one).
• Solution operator - Municipal employees operate the system.
• Regulatory provider - The municipality creates the regulations.
• Compliance monitor - The municipality monitors compliance with the regulations.

In many cases, each of these roles may exist in different parts of the municipality organization and, if so, will require different, and potentially, unique approaches. Working with the local municipality may be one of the longer set of processes to be established and should start early in the planning process..

Integration of the system into the existing Last Mile/First Mile existing solutions.

Describe how the resulting production system leverages and links to other Last Mile/First Mile elements. Describe potential commercial exploitation.

Summary

Tie it together…