Mobileye Joins L4 Autonomous Shuttle Trials in Germany

Mobileye enters Level 4 autonomous driving tests on public roads in Germany as it teams up with the nation’s state-owned public transport service provider Deutsche Bahn (DB).

The company’s Mobileye Drive platform is being used by the DB aboard six on-demand shuttles, albeit without passengers for the moment, in Darmstadt and Offenbach in the Rhine-Main area.

The trials, dubbed KIRA, expect to use Mobileye’s technology to drive the expansion of the on-demand shuttle service to include rural areas into the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) service area.

The trials have been made possible by changes to German government regulations that allow for hands-free driving on defined road networks, a process that standardizes autonomous vehicle testing and one that Mobileye believes could be adopted by other nations.

DB promises that, in the near future, a total of six autonomous shuttles will run and interested citizens will be able to apply as test users and then book the shuttles via their own app.

KIRA is the first project in Germany to test autonomous vehicles for public transport at Level 4 automation. The driving maneuvers of the vehicles are monitored by technical supervisory personnel and a human is present in the vehicles during the initial stages of the trials.

In a statement DB says: “Autonomous on-demand driving services are intended to make public transport more flexible and attractive. Shuttles that can be ordered as needed (on-demand) can provide nationwide mobility, especially in rural areas. With drivers, on-demand shuttles are already on the road in ten areas at RMV. Autonomously and thus without staff on board, such services can also be used nationwide in the future. In the spirit of the transport transition, an intelligent linking of different means of transport should enable seamless mobility from door to door that is as flexible as your own car.”