Autonomous Mobility Systems and Fleet Management
Summary
Autonomous mobility systems encompass the integration of self-driving vehicles, advanced sensing technologies and intelligent control algorithms to deliver personalised or shared transport services without direct human operation. Fleet management within this context involves the strategic coordination of vehicle allocation, routing, charging or refuelling, maintenance and demand forecasting to ensure efficiency, reliability and sustainability. Key challenges include dynamic routing in congested urban settings, fleet rebalancing to minimise idle travel, interaction with existing transport modes and optimisation of energy consumption. The confluence of machine learning, network theory and urban planning is driving rapid advances, enabling services that adapt in real time to fluctuating demand patterns and environmental constraints. Applications range from door-to-door taxi-style services to feeder links for mass transit, with global significance for reducing emissions, alleviating congestion and extending mobility access.
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Autonomous Mobility Systems and Fleet Management publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in autonomous mobility systems and fleet management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Autonomous Mobility on Demand (AMoD): a service model deploying self-driving vehicles to fulfil on-demand passenger requests, often in shared or pooled arrangements.
Fleet rebalancing: the set of strategies and algorithms employed to reposition idle vehicles across a service area to align supply with anticipated demand.
Dynamic routing: real-time optimisation of vehicle trajectories based on up-to-date information on traffic, demand and operational constraints.
Shared autonomous vehicle (SAV): an autonomous vehicle operated collectively by a service provider, offering rides to multiple users rather than individual ownership.
References
- Energy and environmental impacts of shared autonomous vehicles under different pricing strategies. npj Urban Sustainability (2023).
- Cost-based analysis of autonomous mobility services. Transport Policy (2018).
- Relocating shared automated vehicles under parking constraints: assessing the impact of different strategies for on-street parking. Transportation (2020).
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