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Pilot

Autonomous Driving

Autonomous Driving
Location
Bad Birnbach, Germany
Date
Started
Length
1.4 km
Project details
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What

An autonomous driving pilot project developed by Ioki has been launched in the spa town of Bad Birnbach in Lower Bavaria. The shuttle has four station-based stops, follows a defined schedule and is wheelchair accessible. Along its fixed route, the shuttle encounters mixed traffic on public streets. The project seeks to create new transportation options and to develop holistic vehicle concepts.

Why

© ioki. Autonomous Driving.

Why

The main goals of this pilot are to learn to operate an automated vehicle service and understand the process of road approval for these vehicles in Germany as there are currently no standardised procedures for the approval of autonomous transportation services in the country. In view of this, Ioki is working on the further development of such systems and the corresponding regulatory framework with partners from the industry and the scientific and political sector. It is hoped that one day, an on-demand service providing transport for the first/last mile leading to the public transport core will be available in the city.

Challenges

© ioki. Autonomous Driving - Route

Challenges

The main challenges encountered during this initiative are related to current regulations and the technical readiness of the vehicle. There haven’t been any accidents but regular manoeuvres have been required while operating the vehicle. There have also been issues with the liability of the vehicles.

Results & Evaluation

So far, 23,372 passengers have been transported, with an average of 65 passengers per day, 12,619km have been covered with an average distance of 30km a day and an average operational speed of 9 km/h.

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Lexicon

7 words explained

platooning

Also known as flocking. A collection of (automated) vehicles that travel together, actively coordinated in formation. Platoons decrease the distances between vehicles using electronic, and possibly mechanical, coupling. Platooning allows many vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously.

urban setting

High density environment with an efficient high capacity public transport system with good capillarity and high frequencies.

suburban setting

Medium density environment with a good public transport system with radial connections to the city center, but lower capillarity and frequencies. This setting includes suburban cities.

small cities

Small, isolated city with an own public transport system and <100K inhabitants.

rural

Low-density environment, small cities and villages with poor public transport services mainly connecting the villages.

SAE level

The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels define the level of vehicle autonomy, or in other words, how much human intervention is still needed for an automated vehicle to operate. Currently, five SAE levels have been defined: Level 0: Automated system issues warnings and may momentarily intervene but has no sustained vehicle control. Level 1 (hands on): Driver and automatic system share vehicle control. The driver must be ready to retake full control at any time. Level 2 (hands off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly. Level 3 (eyes off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly. Level 4 (mind off): As level 3, but no driver attention is ever required for safety, e.g. the driver may safely go to sleep or leave the driver's seat. Level 5 (steering wheel optional): No human intervention is required at all. An example would be a robotic taxi.

V2X

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa.