The Journey to Regular Operation of a Fully Automatic Terminal Tractor at a Depot in Mixed Operation

As part of the SAFE20 research project, solutions for standardizable yard automation were investigated, developed, and tested under real-world conditions in the mixed operation of a fleet operator. This paper describes the steps of an automation of a terminal tractor unit, which is used to transport semi-trailers locally on the logistics yard. It gives a highlevel overview about the use case to be automated and the needed infrastructure. One focus is the description of the architecture to automate an already exiting manually driven truck. A detailed look into the automatic coupling process between the tractor and a semi-trailer as example of an automated yard use case is given. Finally, the integration steps to bring this vehicle into the logistic yard are shown.