The 2^nd level specializing Master's in Autonomous Commercial Vehicles for Carbon-Free Logistics aims at providing training for young graduate apprentices who will be hired by CNH Industrial for Iveco and FPT.  The 2^nd level Specializing Master’s programme will develop skills for the use of innovative technologies in the automotive sector, with particular focus on autonomous driving and the hybrid / electric technologies applied to commercial vehicles.

2030+ commercial vehicles have to meet the EU checkpoint towards the 2050 “close-to-zero emissions”, “virtually carbon-free” and “zero accident” goals.

The path towards air quality improvement and noise reduction will be paved by the deployment of pure electric-mode vehicles. Their efficient and effective operations require them to be fully integrated in the energy network and system. This will be based on the pervasive employment of renewable energy to simultaneously address greenhouse gas reduction.

Another key ingredient to future decarbonisation of the European transport system will be the availability of low-carbon renewable fuels and blending components, both liquid and gaseous e.g. those produced from biomass, or synthetic fuels using green electricity. Their production may potentially remove existing CO₂ from the environment and they may be used for chemical storage of electrical energy. Higher quality fuels may also have the advantage of providing improved efficiency and reduced emissions through better combustion.

A new way of optimizing energy needs of the vehicle and design efficient solutions for auxiliaries will also be needed to meet the high demanding target.

On top of this, connected automated driving is seen as one of the key technologies and major technological advancements influencing and shaping future logistics and quality of life. The main drivers for higher levels of Automated Driving are:

• Safety: reduce accidents caused by human errors.
• Efficiency and environmental objectives: Increase transport system efficiency and reduce time in congested traffic by new urban mobility solutions. Also, smoother traffic will help to decrease the energy consumption and emissions of the vehicles.
• Comfort: Enable user’s freedom for other activities when automated systems are active.
• Social inclusion: Ensure mobility for all, including elderly and impaired users.
• Accessibility: Facilitate access to city centres.

This 2^nd level Specializing Master’s programme focuses on all the technologies required to address such challenges in the next 10 years. It also digs into the new emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, automation, digitalization and big data to create the framework for the new generation of fully-automated vehicles. Beyond 10 years, the new possibilities offered by digital era of transportation will enable new concepts of “smart” vehicles, whose operation can be dynamically adapted and optimized to missions and environmental conditions, pushing efficiency and environmental friendliness of transport means beyond current paradigms.

A giant innovation gap is needed to be covered in the next decade: it is materially impossible to face the change required by the above-mentioned challenges without breaking the silos. Working together in cross disciplinary and cross sectors teams with a co-creation approach will be a key for success.

The primary objective of this 2^nd level Specializing Master’s programme will thus be the formation of skills spread across mechanical engineering, electronics, energy, information technology and telecommunications. Students will be initially provided with the fundamental disciplines (vehicle mechanics, thermodynamics, communications, architecture of computers and networks) that create the common language needed to understand the following courses. These will then address specialized skills on electric and hybrid propulsion, on vehicle on-board electronics, intervehicular communication systems and embedded systems for vehicle automation.

The Departments of Energy (DENERG), Mechanical and Aerospace  Engineering (DIMEAS), Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), and Control and Computer Engineerin (DAUIN) are the main Politecnico di Torino departments that will contribute to the implementation of this master. The inter-departmental centers CARS@polito (Center for Automotive Research and Sustainable mobility, http://www.cars.polito.it/it), PEIC (Power Electronics Innovation Center, http://www.peic.polito.it/it/) and SmartData@Polito (Big Data and Data Science Laboratory, https://smartdata.polito.it/) are also involved in this master, as the innovation environments where breakthrough research and cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial education are developed and technological transfer is fostered.