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Automated Movement of Electric Buses Within a Depot
ComfortDelGro Australia
Background/ Context
ComfortDelGro Corporation is one of the world’s largest land transport companies. ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia Pty Ltd (CDC) operates buses, taxis and non-emergency patient transport, and provides safe and reliable transport services to metro and regional communities across New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. CDC is one of Australia’s largest bus operators with 2,700 buses.
CDC recognises that in the Future of Mobility, transport solutions will be more autonomous and sustainable, and thus it is important to understand and develop its Autonomous Vehicle (AV) capabilities.
CDC is electrifying its bus fleet and expects to have a level of autonomous vehicle capability in the long run. Automation is incremental. They are seeking to explore pilots with tech innovators to test emerging technologies that bridge the gap between now and what could be in around 10 years’ or more time when the fleet is fully electric and autonomous.
How might we automate the movement of electric buses within a depot for efficient charging and maintenance?
Bus depots are often situated on expensive real estate and therefore, generally compact in size. Manoeuvring in such a tight space is challenging. At the same time, depots are confined to a very specific geographical area and are free of other vehicles and pedestrians, which benefits the operation of autonomous buses.
Automation can significantly improve the efficiency of workflows and safety in the depot. Less manpower is required to move vehicles between parking bays for various purposes and it would be an inherently safer operation.
Requirements
The solution should have the ability to make an electric (or hybrid) bus autonomously and safely navigate to a charging station and other service bays within a bus depot and back to its predetermined bus bay ready for its next day’s operation.
It is likely to consist of a navigation system enabled by Global Positioning System or other systems; a range of sensors, such as light detection and ranging sensors (LIDAR), radar or sonars; cameras, etc.
Depot size is not a limitation, as the solution can be applied to big or small bus depots. Big depots hold over 70 buses (some over 100).
Proof-of-Concept/Pilot
A POC can be proposed and planned for 2024. CDC will provide S$8,800 to fund the POC.
Enterprise Singapore is augmenting this support with a S$20,000 POC development grant. The POC Development grant will be awarded to startups/SMEs incorporated in Singapore for projects with overseas pilot deployment potential. Foreign startups/SMEs may be considered if developmental activities are based in Singapore and only if a Singapore office is incorporated.
As part of the POC, CDC will provide a real-world environment to assess the vehicle’s autonomous navigation ability.
CDC can also provide examples of transitioning a bus depot to 100% electrification with associated annual energy and charging profiles over time.
Additional Information
Info Session
Check out the recording from our Info Session, where CDC shared more about their challenge statement.
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