What is a vehicle?

A vehicle is an agent of transportation used to transport cargo and people along the route as requested.

What is a vehicle used for?

The purpose of a vehicle is to move cargo or people from one location to another. When a vehicle is created, it is added to an existing zone. Details about each vehicle are customized upon creation. For example, a vehicle can be set to have a maximum speed, maximum capacity, type of service, and fixed vehicle cost.

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Tip: Use consistent cargo units

The cargo unit should be used consistently throughout the zone. This ensures that a vehicle has enough capacity for carrying the items or people being transported.

Proper use of dutyMode is very important in order for vehicles to be adequately assigned to routes. Setting the dutyMode tells the optimizer which vehicles are available for assignment, and which ones are unavailable. Options for dutyMode include onDuty, onDutyPrivate, and offDuty.

• onDuty indicates that the vehicle is available and ready to take on a mobility task. These vehicles are the only ones considered for assignment.

• onDutyPrivate indicates that the vehicle is not available to Interplai for route optimization but location updates are still being sent. This mode is may be used for vehicles that are temporarily unavailable for assignment by Interplai. For example, if a vehicle takes on a manual assignment outside of a recommendation by Interplai, it may be placed on theonDutyPrivate mode until that assignment is completed.

• offDuty indicates that the vehicle is not ready to accept any trips. Vehicles with this mode will not be considered for any assignment.

Examples

Anything that can be used to transport cargo is considered a vehicle. This includes what is regularly thought of as a vehicle—such as a car, truck, van, or motorbike—but may also include scooters, bicycles, or even delivery robots!

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Caution: vehicles ≠ drivers

Optimization solutions include vehicle assignments for mobility tasks to ensure capacity and service requirements are met. For example, if a single driver can operate two vehicles in the system, but both vehicles cannot be used simultaneously, then once the driver receives an assignment under the first vehicle, the status of the second vehicle should be changed to "off duty".

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Key Takeaways

• Vehicles transport cargo and people.
• The dutyMode of a vehicle is very important to keep up-to-date.
• Vehicles can be customized.