Technology assessment for measuring cargo weight and volume in moving trucks

Transport logistics is experiencing a significant transformation due to increasing costs and environmental regulations, which demand more efficient resource utilization. Based on the current scientific literature, accurate load volume and weight data can offer a basis to improve the optimization of truck capacity. This study presents and evaluates technologies for measuring cargo weight and volume during transport. A notable outcome is a method that leverages telematics data to assess the truck's load weight without requiring additional sensors. Using this method, truck weight utilization could be verified for the defined 25%-quartiles without misdetection. Regarding volume detection, an innovative Time-of-Flight sensor solution has been developed, achieving an average volume measurement deviation of 6.2%. This enabled a 3D visualization of current freight volume distribution, supporting the identification of travel patterns with low utilization. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential future applications for this data in cargo distribution planning.