Mega sites

GERMANY

Level 4/5 operation in complex scenarios & combined urban and peri-urban Environments

LOCATION

The mega site Germany includes three cities: Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim. The test area setup in Karlsruhe (Population of 310,000) is located in the city centre. Karlsruhe is a regional centre with a big share of commuter traffic. The demo in Mannheim will take place in Franklin, a suburban area in the peri-urban space of Mannheim (Population of 305,000). The pilot site in the city of Frankfurt (Population of 753,000) takes place in the district of Riederwald, in the east of the city. There are metro stops of two different metro lines close to the neighbourhood and Points of Interest (POIs) such as a supermarket, pharmacy, and a sports club.

OVERVIEW

Frankfurt’s two EasyMile EZ10 Gen3b automated shuttles operate in a route of 2,7 km long with 30 virtual stops (including weelchair-friendly stops), serving as a first/last mile feeder to the metro stops. The service can be booked for free via the on-demand application “RMV EASY“. The shuttles are equipped with AI-systems, with voice bot for information about public transport connections and a AI-based camera system for the detection of dangerous situations.

In Karlsruhe, one passenger car and two shuttles will be used. Integration with the existing operational control centre of the public transport operator will be used to demonstrate Level 5 operation in complex scenarios. Another use case in Karlsruhe includes mixed passenger – cargo transport with a dashboard integrating all types of stakeholders and a new approach with passenger and goods capsules. The demo will also include an urban platooning function between two vehicles.

In Mannheim, shuttles will operate on flexible lines and serve barrier-free stops, fully integrated into the existing public transport system. Demos using a small fleet of shuttles include an automated bus stop and self-learning DRT.

SPEED

Frankfurt:Up to 20 km/h for the EasyMile Shuttles, 30 km/h for other trafficKarlsruhe: 20 km/h for the shuttles and up to 50 km/h for the cars
Mannheim: 20 km/h, due to a real speed limit in the test area

AUTOMATION LEVEL

Frankfurt: 4
Karlsruhe: 4/5
Mannheim: 4

USER GROUPS

The pilot sites are mainly targeted at residents of the neighbourhood.

The digitised management of parking spots provides solutions for commuters as well as residents. Users of the on-demand services will be primarily PT users in a multi-modal travel chain, creating more attractive feeders in areas of low coverage or PT frequency.

The provision of a new automated transport service is intended to provide an incentive to abandon the private car and make an important contribution to the change in mobility.