Future Concepts and Flexible Structures for Urban Vehicles

Abstract

The global trends of urbanisation, modularisation, electrification and higher levels of automation (1) offer the opportunity to systematically develop innovative vehicle concepts and bodies with new levels of freedom and requirements. In the future, vehicles will be automated and electrically powered. In addition to new materials and production methods, many aspects of vehicle construction are being rethought. Thanks to various modules, particularly for the body structure, the furutre vehicle can be constructed to meet different requirements: as a small city utility vehicle or even as a large, fully-automated "cargo mover" able to transport loads and goods. The components of the Urban Modular Vehicle (UMV), developed at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) provide such an opportunity - the UMV Basic, a 2 + 2 seater that is 3.6 metres in length; the UMV Long, a 2 + 2 seater with a length of 4.0 metres, including a larger boot; the UMV2 + Cargo, a small delivery vehicle; the fully autonomous UMV Peoplemover with 2 + 2 seats; and the UMV Cargomover, a fully autonomous delivery vehicle.