A Lifecycle Model for Autonomous Buses in Public Transport

DS 134: Proceedings of the 26th International DSM Conference (DSM 2024), Stuttgart, Germany

Year: 2024
Editor: Harold (Mike) Stowe; Christopher Langner; Matthias Kreimeyer; Tyson R. Browning; Steven D. Eppinger; Ali A. Yassine
Author: Christopher Langner; Markus Rehberg; Daniel Roth; Matthias Kreimeyer
Series: DSM
Institution: University of Stuttgart, Germany
Page(s): 127-136
DOI number: 10.35199/dsm2024.14

Abstract

Automated, driverless buses are an essential part of meeting current challenges in the transportation sector with new, more efficient solutions. Since these systems have not yet been implemented in real operation, several challenges for their developers and operators occur. Some challenges stem from a lack of comprehensive understanding of the bus lifecycle. To address this, this paper presents both a meta-level lifecycle model and detailed descriptions of each phase. A combined approach consisting of a literature review and industry workshops was applied to develop this model. The lifecycle is modeled in an integrated manner as a product-service system, incorporating the product bus and the transportation service perspective, divided into the main phases of planning, development, realization, shared usage, and end of life. A key aspect is the importance of software for the system and data and its feedback from the usage to the engineering phases, especially for the driving software.

Keywords: automated driving, public transport, lifecycle model, product-service systems, systems engineering