Man & Partners Announce Success Of @City Project’s Self-Driving Public Transport Initiative
Man Truck & Bus has spent the past four years developing an autonomous public transport solution as part of the @City (Automated Cars and Intelligent Traffic in the City) joint project. On 22 June, the company joined its 14 partners from the automotive and supplier industries and software development and science fields in presenting the results at the Aldenhoven Testing Center in Germany.
"Automated driving is an important component in making urban mobility fit for the future," says Man Truck & Bus @City Project Manager, Walter Schwertberger. "That's why we supported the research initiative and worked together to develop solutions to the challenges of bringing automation technology to urban road transport."
Safe & Efficient
The @City initiative was launched in 2017 with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK). Its goal was to improve future urban traffic with emphases on safety, energy efficiency, and quality of life.
Key to @City’s aims was the development of self-driving vehicles for public transportation. With pedestrians, cyclists, and other motor vehicles on the street, traffic in urban settings is more complicated than previous applications of Man autonomous vehicles, such as highway truck transport between distribution hubs. The test vehicle required many sensors, precise digital maps, and ways to communicate with others on the road in order to successfully achieve its objectives.
Man On The Street
Man worked to develop technologies to help the prototype city bus approach bus stops autonomously and precisely, then exit the stop and resume its route. As its left turn signal activates, the bus sends an electronic signal to automated cars behind it, telling them to slow down and let the bus re-enter traffic. A human driver retakes control and drives the Man test bus between stops.
The test vehicle needed to be able to understand complex traffic situations, derive correct courses of action, and be able to replicate approaches to the kerb within a few centimetres every time. The last point was crucial to passenger accessibility as they entered and exited the bus, as well as to avoid tyre wear from rubbing the kerb.
"@City has given us important insights on the way to automated city bus transport and has shown us how we can use autonomous driving functions but also communication with other vehicles sensibly in practical operation," Schwertberger says.
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Source: Man