Early-Stage Utility Value Analysis Supported Model-Based Systems-Engineering Design of a Dual-Use Shuttle

Growing mobility demand and declining vehicle utilization motivate dual-use vehicles that can alternately transport passengers and freight. This work presents an early-stage utility value analysis to select a baseline concept and integrates it into model-based systems-engineering architecture development of an autonomous dual-use shuttle. Existing dual-use-capable shuttle concepts were screened and comparatively assessed using a utility value analysis with exclusion criteria and weighted evaluation criteria, including operational versatility, module exchange flexibility, infrastructure effort, battery positioning, and technology readiness. Criterion weights were derived by pairwise preference analysis, emphasizing the versatility of use scenarios. The highest-ranking concept, 101 Modular Mobility, was selected as the reference architecture. Subsequently, a SysML system model was developed in a MagicGrid-structured model-based systems-engineering (MBSE) process, covering stakeholder needs, key use cases such as transport service usage, module exchange, and automated charging, and the resulting system context and interfaces. The system model is augmented by a tailored Grey Box structural viewpoint within the MagicGrid workflow to make module boundaries and inter-module interfaces explicit for the modular dual-use shuttle architecture. The resulting model provides a traceable early architectural baseline for further refinement and subsequent verification activities.