Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities

An analysis of local authority views and treatment of urban freight in the UK

Freight transport is critical in sustaining and growing the urban economy. For the efficient and effective distribution of goods a balanced set of policies that meets the needs of all stakeholders and all users of the urban road network, including residents, businesses and suppliers is crucial. The European Commission (2009) predicts that the proportion of the European population residing in urban areas will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, and hence the demand for goods and services in those areas continues to rise. Despite these predictions, there remains a strong impression that the requirements of freight distribution and logistics operations are often neglected in urban transport policies and strategies drawn up by local authorities. This paper presents an analysis of some of the findings from eleven in-depth qualitative interviews with representatives from local transport authorities across the UK. The research finds that whilst local authorities acknowledge the importance of urban freight to the local economy they know surprisingly little about it. Only half of the authorities interviewed held detailed information on freight and, on further analysis this tends to be about major freight generators and heavily used routes rather than being an understanding of freight movements across the area. Coupled with a relatively limited level of engagement with freight operators through formal partnerships and consultation processes, the mechanisms for including freight issues in the planning process remain unclear. Further work will consider the problem from the perspective of the freight operators

Urban freight in the UK: analysing the contrast between local authority and freight operator perspectives

Purpose of this paper: In 2009 approximately 72% of the European population resided in urban areas, which is expected to rise to 84% by 2050. This urban population growth reinforces the demand for goods and services to be readily available, which requires an efficient goods distribution network. In the UK, local authorities appear to have little understanding of the impacts their policies may have on freight operations. This paper seeks to analyse views on the efficacy of current urban transport policies from the perspectives of both planners and operators. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative semi-structured interviews with representatives from local transport authorities and the UK freight transport industry are used to identify the current policies which cause the greatest conflicts between these groups. Findings: The paper identifies the extent to which urban freight transport is undervalued by local authorities; highlighted by their poor level of knowledge and understanding of the issues. The main problems associated with urban freight and the initiatives developed by local authorities to assist freight operators are discussed and evaluated. Research limitations/implications (if applicable): The findings from this study are derived entirely from qualitative research and are limited to the opinions of stakeholders who participated. Practical implications (if applicable): Results from the completed research will help to develop more effective mechanisms for dialogue between all relevant stakeholders, ultimately leading to better formulation and implementation of systems for urban planning and management. What is original/value of paper: Previous research has defined the various facets of the urban freight problem, and presented many potential delivery solutions. This study presents an under standing of why these solutions are not being considered and/or implemented and examines why other policies which are planned with very little understanding of the impacts on freight may continue to take precedence

Investigating the impacts of urban transport policies on essential freight operations

In 1984, Ogden described how “governments have involved themselves to varying degrees with different aspects of freight; some (such as rail) are traditionally controlled quite closely, while others (in particular, urban freight) have usually been relatively neglected.” In light of this, Ogden (1984) concluded that urban freight, given its importance in the economy deserves greater attention from transport planners and policy makers. The findings discussed in this paper are intended to demonstrate that the situation Ogden described in 1984 has changed little over the past twenty-seven years, with local authorities still having little knowledge or understanding about the issues faced by urban logistics operators, resulting in policy makers being unable to plan effectively to tackle the key issues. Section 2 of the paper reviews a selection of research from the UK and the USA that has attempted to identify and address the problems surrounding urban freight. It is clear that this continues to be a relatively under researched area despite its importance, therefore in order to address these shortcomings, this paper reports on qualitative research conducted to gain an understanding of the various stakeholder perspectives. The methods that have been adopted for this study are outlined in Section 3; and in Section 4, three main findings including the importance of urban freight; the main problems associated with urban freight operations; and a review of the initiatives that are in place to assist urban freight operations are all discussed from the perspectives of both local authorities and freight operators. The paper concludes in Section 5 with an overview of the key points

Effective Covering of Supplied Nanostores in Emerging Cities

peer reviewedThe role of distribution in emerging markets is the same as everywhere else. Yet the distribution landscape in such markets is marked by a lack of uniformity and dominated by traditional distribution channels made of nanostores. The traditional small retailers need to be visited and supplied very frequently (High Frequency Stores) which turns to be costly and time consuming. An effective and efficient distribution system allows customers to buy what they want whenever they want to. In this chapter, we deal with a real-life application problem where a Moroccan company has to build an effective strategy to supply nanostores in a major city like Casablanca. The problem of concern is modeled as an assignment problem, combined with side constraints regarding profit potential balance, workload balance and disruption of pre-assignments. We adopt a multi-objective approach to a multiple traveling salesman problem. The results show that the multi-objective function produces better profit and workload balance than setting a simple objective function and a constraint, one for the profit balance and the other for workload balance and vice-vers

Some Considerations on the Role of Universities and Research Centers in EU-Funded Sustainable Mobility Projects

Stakeholder involvement is now part of formal requirements of almost any transportation decision-making process in Europe, increasing the complexity while allowing for better, shared decisions. European institutions strongly promote participatory processes and have developed a regulatory framework as well as guidelines and tools for successful and effective public engagement in transport planning. In this context, a variety of EU funded projects have been set up where territorial partners cooperate with universities and research centers in developing a sustainable mobility project and related public engagement strategies. This paper digs into the history and the current state of stakeholder involvement in transport projects, discussing through a broad literature analysis the theoretical evolution of the concept, controversies, drivers for phases and tools for effective engagement practices. Through the examples of the experience within European projects SMILE and SMART COMMUTING, this paper explores the role that academic institutions can play in engagement processes and possible contributions in terms of technical expertise and know-how transfer. Intermediate results from the projects\u2019 engagement efforts seem to validate the European Commission\u2019s belief that planned, continuous, open and interactive involvement of Universities may bring to better, shared and desirable decisions, consistently with findings from recent literature

Plan for sustainable urban logistics – comparing between Scandinavian and UK practices

Abstract Introduction Common practices in current urban logistics planning in Scandinavia and the UK, and the degree to which SUTP (Sustainable Urban Transport Plan), SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans) and SULP (Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans) guidelines are used, are examined in this paper. Methods A systematic literature review identifies relevant studies based on predefined inclusion criteria: mobility, freight, urban, plan. Results It is found that urban freight plans are used more frequently in the UK than in the Scandinavian countries. SULPs (freight strategies, action plans or parts of a mobility plan) follow a structure that identifies the current situation and defines the strategic context, vision, targets and objectives using selected policy measures, measures that are dependent on geographical scope. Conclusions Urban freight plans are designed with a sustainability perspective to define visions and policy measures for urban freight. SUTP, SUMP and SULP methodologies are used in existing Scandinavian and UK urban freight plans, especially when a collaborative planning approach is being practiced. The emphasis on urban freight is challenged by the regional perspective. Integrating urban freight in general planning procedures or transport planning is important. Government guidance and sustainable strategies can provide a planning methodology and, therefore, based on national guidelines further European structural standardisation could be beneficial. Identification of freight plans is crucial if the contributions they make are to be determined

Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems

Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities