European logistics networks are highly fragmented: cross-border shipments often pass through several independent companies, each of which operates with its own systems, vehicle fleets and route planning. As a result, there is usually no end-to-end overview of a shipment’s status. It was precisely this fundamental problem that the EU Horizon project TRACE, which has now been successfully completed, set out to address.

To this end, TRACE developed a shared platform through which different logistics companies can securely share their fleets and operational data without losing control over their own business data. Deliveries are thus coordinated across company boundaries and assigned to the most suitable mode of transport depending on the situation – from lorries and cargo bikes to unmanned aerial vehicles.

MOVE’s contribution to the project: the development of a GIS-based suitability framework that measures the suitability of roads for automated delivery vehicles. The index considers two dimensions – ‘drivability’, i.e. the physical passability of a road, and ‘compatibility’, i.e. the compatibility of automated vehicles with other uses of the road space, such as walking. This index forms part of the routing algorithm in TRACE.

The associated scientific papers are currently in the process of being published. We will provide an update here as soon as they are published. The official TRACE white paper on European logistics integration, opens an external URL in a new window is already available.