Wednesday 31 October 2018

Siemens launches field test for driverless EVs in Germany

Siemens is to test the interaction between autonomous electric vehicles (EVs), intelligent roadside infrastructure and cloud-based software services in Germany.

It has launched a field test at its campus in Munich-Perlach, which has a test route and enables traffic simulation in a variety of real-life situations.

A highly automated single-seat car and a shuttle bus will be used to research the interplay of intelligent infrastructure and the vehicles.

Utility poles along the route have been equipped with laser scanners, radar units and cameras to monitor the overall traffic environment and precisely locate the vehicles.

The project - funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Security - aims to demonstrate how autonomous EVs can improve road safety and efficiency while operating at the highest level of autonomy with no driver intervention.

Siemens is working in partnership with IAV, Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM), Emm Solutions, UTB Project Management and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) for the research project and field test.

They hope to develop a system that provides autonomous driving options for the first and last mile of a journey.

Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility said: “Our research project is another milestone to serving the so-called first and last mile in a multimodal mobility mix that includes autonomous vehicles. Our infrastructure is a critically important component for providing secure and efficient on-demand transportation in urban and rural areas.”