Issue 37 Unmanned Systems Technology April/May 2021 Einride next-gen Pod l Battery technology l Dive Technologies AUV-Kit l UGVs insight l Vanguard EFI/ETC vee twins l Icarus Swarms l Transponders l Sonobot 5 l IDEX 2021 report

50 A lthough the coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic effect around the world, the lockdowns imposed to counter the spread of Covid-19 have in many ways had the greatest impact on urban areas, where population densities and thus the risk of transmission are highest. Established forms of public transport, logistics and other work have been severely restricted by these measures, prompting business owners and local authorities to investigate new and less risky models for providing such services. Autonomy is a good fit for many of these models, as it allows human workers to remotely monitor unmanned systems tasked with performing such work. UGVs in particular are well-placed here, since they can of course operate in cities with far more freedom than UAVs. Various autonomous ground systems are therefore now being deployed to investigate their capacity for increasing safety and productivity in urban environments – both during the pandemic and for the future. Transport Forum Virium Helsinki is a publicly owned entity dedicated to integrating advanced technologies and functionalities throughout the Finnish capital, through partnerships with companies, universities and other public- The Covid-19 pandemic has brought UGV developments to the fore as a way to replace at-risk workers. Rory Jackson highlights some key moves On the safe side April/May 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology