How to go beyond a proof of concept or a simulation? The path of a technology from basic research to commercialisation can be a bumpy journey. One of the biggest hurdles is to develop – technology that resonates with users. One way of bridging this gap is to introduce a technology into a dynamic real-life situation, a so-called Living Lab. In conjunction with a user-centred design philosophy, a living lab can be used to find out how technology can be seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of users.

How to go beyond a proof of concept or a simulation? The path of a technology from basic research to commercialisation can be a bumpy journey. One of the biggest hurdles is to develop – technology that resonates with users. One way of bridging this gap is to introduce a technology into a dynamic real-life situation, a so-called Living Lab. In conjunction with a user-centred design philosophy, a living lab can be used to find out how technology can be seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of users.

Empowering local businesses

Author: Marij Lambert / Stad Leuven

When screening sustainable urban logistics solutions and applications, the city of Leuven is constantly seeking for the added value – efficiency – for their local businesses. Promoting local shopping is promoting sustainable dropping and vice versa. So yes, city logistics should focus on safety and clean air, but what if these local SME’s, often micro-entrepreneurs or small enterprises, were to disappear because the solutions don’t fit their needs?

To avoid this doomsday situation, Leuven has defined a framework for a lively and smart city, in which sustainable city logistics can be organised while empowering its local businesses. The framework is based on three smart principles: smart governance, smart stakeholders and – as an enabler or booster for the first two principles – smart data and technology. Recent examples of this integrated approach cover projects on Urban Vehicle Access Control (e.g. TOKEN) and logistic planning tools (e.g. FlexCURB). Focusing on the first mile, the popular local distribution platform “we.deliver” was launched in Leuven in 2022, to centrally organise pick-ups from 100 local web-shops. The platform consolidates first mile flows in the city, and e-commerce parcels are delivered zero emission with LEV’s or cargo bikes. By adding the GREEN-LOG Logistics-as-a-Service (LaaS) solution to the portfolio, Leuven is taking the learnings from we.deliver to a next level.

We.deliver next generation: a multi-layered cake

In the first demo of GREEN-LOG, starting in Fall 2024, the Leuven Living Lab will simulate how the LaaS concept can organise pick-ups and drop-offs in a more efficient way. Therefore, the city will link its historical demand data of we.deliver to realtime supply data from the LSP’s involved in demo 1. Several GREEN-LOG components, for example day-to-day demand prediction and event-driven optimisation scenarios, will be applied to this dataset of historical demand and real-time supply. New consolidation and business opportunities can be predicted in demo 1 and data-driven insights will convince LSP’s to participate in demo 2. Maybe they will shift towards dynamic pricing based on the analysis and recommendations offered by demo 1, in parallel with the dynamic demand and supply from the LaaS?

Apart from the data layer, a policy control layer will be introduced to allow the local authority to apply business rules, aiming for less emissions, less congestion and more road safety. These business rules could be either hard measures that can be enforced (e.g. restrictions like timeframes for deliveries) or soft measures (e.g. preference for zero emission delivery). Deliveries which are compliant with these business rules, should become more attractive to the senders. How? Should senders be nudged through dynamic pricing, through a credit-based nudging system, through non-financial nudging? Surveys and simulations will guide the way in demo 1…

When the new year arrives, we will have had a first taste of a policy-driven, data-driven LaaS. Based on this first demo in Leuven and the experiences of the use cases in Ghent and Mechelen, the technological GREEN-LOG partners will finetune the components and integrations to unleash the real power of the GREEN-LOG LaaS in demo 2, steering the marketplace towards more sustainable delivery options while optimising operations for our local shops!

Photo credit: VISIT Mechelsestraat ©KarlBruninx

Author: Wanja Knighton / FEED Oxford

Urban last-mile deliveries, which involve transporting goods to the end customer in cities, are undergoing a green revolution. Traditionally plagued by high traffic congestion and significant carbon emissions from diesel lorries and vans, there is now a notable shift towards more sustainable and efficient delivery methods, such as e-cargo bikes.

Cargo bikes have emerged as a popular and eco-friendly alternative for urban deliveries. These pedal-powered vehicles, often augmented with electric assistance, are designed to carry substantial loads, making them particularly effective in navigating crowded city streets where traditional delivery vans often struggle, especially in historic cities like Oxford. Their flexibility allows them to access narrow streets and pedestrian zones off-limits to motor vehicles, broadening delivery areas and enhancing service flexibility.

The efficiency of cargo bikes extends to faster service within dense urban environments, leading to higher customer satisfaction. They offer multiple benefits, including reducing the number of cars (and their emissions and noise) on the road, lowering roads wear and tear, and making cities safer and more livable. Additionally, cargo bikes can operate from smaller, less disruptive warehousing or consolidation centres.

From a cost perspective, cargo bikes eliminate fuel expenses and have lower maintenance costs than traditional vehicles, providing a more cost-effective solution for businesses. However, the primary cost driver remains the human operator, who accounts for over 60% of operational costs. This is a significant challenge across the freight supply chain, particularly for small operators.

A potential solution to this challenge lies in the current revolution of self-driving vehicles. Autonomous delivery vehicles, ranging from small robots to full-sized electric vans, are being developed and tested worldwide. These vehicles offer efficient route planning, minimising unnecessary mileage and fuel consumption.

Self-driving vehicles have the advantage of operating around the clock without the need for breaks, enabling continuous delivery services and improving logistics efficiency. Equipped with advanced sensors and AI, these vehicles promise higher safety standards by reducing human error, ensuring consistent and timely deliveries, and enhancing customer trust. The vast data these vehicles collect allows businesses to optimise delivery routes, schedules, and inventory management, further enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.

Self-driving technology is not limited to cars or sidewalk robots; there is significant potential in combining autonomous, or at least remote-controlled technology, with bikes. This could merge the benefits of both worlds: significantly reducing costs and enabling greater growth in e-cargo bike companies while reducing the number of large vehicles in city centres.

At Oxfordshire, such a solution is being developed. In partnership with local e-cargo bike manufacturer EAV and Oxford Brookes University, the Oxfordshire Living Lab GREEN-LOG partners are creating a Micro-Delivery Hub (MDH). This MDH will be operable remotely and, potentially, autonomously. The MDH will be trialled in various scenarios, from regular delivery bike use to mobile delivery lockers, allowing recipients to pick up parcels from convenient locations at their preferred times. Trials are planned for 2024 and 2025. Advanced modelling from the GREEN-LOG partners will recommend optimal MDH locations and collaboration strategies with other last-mile solutions.

By eliminating the need to cover an hourly salary, the e-cargo bike’s speed can be slower, and additional services can be integrated, such as collecting return items or carrying public defibrillators. Although significant work remains before the MDH can be commercialised, including detailed user interface exploration, this exciting new idea could make last-mile logistics greener and safer while supporting the growth of start-ups worldwide.

Photo 1: “The future of last mile logistics will be a mix of different solution”, AI-generated image by DalE

Photo 2: Oxfordshire Living Lab MicroDelivery Hub, Image copyright: FEED Oxford

How can last-mile logistics be planned and operated sustainably using simulation and AI? This article describes how Aimsun is facilitating the analysis of new last-mile delivery concepts within the GREEN-LOG project.

Imagine you are a shopkeeper needing to dispatch a delivery to a nearby location. The most straightforward approach would be to contact local Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) to determine the most appealing delivery option. But what defines ‘appealing’? For some, it’s the fastest delivery; for others, the cheapest; or perhaps for others, the most sustainable option. However, more often than not, our decisions are swayed by price.

Almost all attempts to decrease the impact of the last-mile go through the carrier. Carriers are asked to consolidate in hubs, use pick-up points, or deliver outside specific time windows to reduce emissions and kilometres in dense urban areas. Yet, the effects of these attempts are somewhat limited. The lack of success is due to a combination of unsustainable business models, a reluctance to collaborate, and a hyper-competitive market. Just for the sake of it, companies are not going to change their optimised operations.