U-Shift vehicle concept: modular on the road

Abstract

By separating the drive unit (driveboard) and the transport capsule, the driverless and electrically driven vehicle concept U-Shift enables a new kind of flexibility and efficiency for the mobility of tomorrow. In combination with various types of capsules, the driveboard is used to transport both people or goods. The capsules can be changed quickly, drives quietly, without the need for operators and without being tied to changing stations. Special capsules enable a wide variety of business models and applications - from barrier-free on-demand buses to parcel delivery services. Cost and resource efficiency are key development goals, which is why expensive systems such as the complex technology for driverless driving are primarily housed in the driveboard. In a first step, a rollable prototype was built. Development of a further prototype with extended functions for driverless driving has already begun. We present our vehicle concept U-Shift with the special features to the different vehicle technologies. The partners of the DLR Institute of Vehicle Concepts in the U-Shift project include the Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS), which is developing the powertrain, the Institute of Vehicle Systems Technology (FAST) and the Institute of Information Processing Technology (ITIV) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), which are contributing the chassis and the electrical/electronic architecture, respectively. The Institute for Measurement, Control and Microtechnology (MRM) at the University of Ulm is responsible for the automation.