The autonomous shuttles that previously operated in Hof, Kronach, Bad Steben and Rehau will disappear from the cityscape there – at least temporarily. After more than four successful years, the “Shuttle Model Region Upper Franconia” (SMO) will come to a scheduled conclusion at the end of September. The research work began with the start of the first project phase in Upper Franconia in 2020 with funding from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV).
At the closing event at the Institute for Information Systems at Hof University of Applied Sciences (iisys), the project partners involved agreed that the two funded projects SMO1 and SMO2 provided all participants with a lasting benefit from the research results achieved. The industrial partners were able to further expand their practical experience and advance the topic of autonomous driving. The participating universities in Chemnitz, Hof and Coburg intensified their collaboration and also funded various doctoral positions and research.
Future local transport: barrier-free and sustainable
In particular, the “Autonomous Driving” course at the new Lucas Cranach Campus in Kronach was supported by the projects and public funding. During the project, both the participating municipalities and the public gained valuable insights into how local public transport can be operated sustainably and barrier-free in the future. According to those responsible, the project results also showed that research into automated driving in rural areas has made great progress.
In the first phase, the focus was on establishing shuttle operations in the model municipalities of Kronach, Hof and REHAU. In Kronach, the focus was on tourist operations, while in Hof the focus was on the last mile and connecting the city center to the train station. The shuttle service was a complete success, as the passenger surveys conducted by Coburg University of Applied Sciences during the first phase of the project showed. The accompanying research work, such as the shuttle control center and teleoperation, was also successfully completed.
Second project phase: focus on complete automation
The “Shuttle Model Region Upper Franconia” entered its second project phase at the beginning of 2022 and was thus able to continue the research work and shuttle operations. The new Bad Steben site was added. The shuttle operation continued and was carried out by DB Regio Bus. The second project phase focused on AI-supported full automation. Demand-controlled on-demand operation was tested and the extent to which the shuttle operation could be remotely monitored by the control room designed as part of the project was investigated at the same time. Valeo, the consortium leader, played a key role here. Jörg Schrepfer, Head of Development at Valeo in Kronach, comments:
‘We asked ourselves what happens when the safety person is no longer in the shuttle, but in the shuttle control center? Over the past four years or so, we have worked together in the project consortium to develop a wide range of answers and solutions to this question. These technologies will also be incorporated into driver assistance systems from Valeo and will one day also be found in your car.”
Jörg Schrepfer, Head of Development at Valeo
In order to realize the automation of all steps around the journey, the shuttle doors, for example, were also converted and tested to enable barrier-free entry as intuitively as possible. The processes for vehicle access and the interior are essential for the full automation that is now being sought. To this end, the SMO project was able to bring further expertise into the consortium in the form of Brose. REHAU contributed to the further development of autonomous driving in difficult weather conditions with, among other things, the protected and invisible integration of vehicle sensors into the vehicle’s outer skin.
Wishes and expectations of the public
In addition, new participation formats were integrated into the project in order to take into account the concerns and wishes of the population – particularly with regard to full automation, accessibility and user acceptance. The topics relating to artificial intelligence and 5G were successfully supported by several professorships at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and the Lucas-Cranach Campus. In all areas, it was possible to see how well the link between research, industry and the public sector works and how fruitful this can be.
“Ensuring continuation”
Many of the project’s companions were invited to the closing event on 19.09.2024 at the Institute for Information Systems (iisys). The guests were welcomed at the beginning by Hof University of Applied Sciences and its president, who was optimistic about the future:
Many greetings from China! We have to expect that projects that we can’t manage in Germany will be implemented there. That is why there is still a lot to do and we should work together to ensure that the Upper Franconia shuttle model region is continued and further developed!”
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Lehmann
Jörg Schrepfer from consortium leader Valeo recalled the exciting early days. They had already come together in 2019 to promote the topic of mobility in Upper Franconia and to work closely together across district boundaries in the future. This has been impressively successful. Both Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Hof University of Applied Sciences now teach together at the Lucas Cranach Campus in Kronach. The Autonomous Driving course was also launched there during the SMO project period.
The words of welcome from the political representatives praised the exciting results of the research project and once again emphasized the importance of automated driving for the mobility of the future.
We were able to learn lessons that are useful for further projects. And we have created an excellent network that can continue to create added value in the region. SMO 3 must come – because we must not stop halfway. We are trying to pull out all the stops to get the project on track for a third phase.”
Dr. Oliver Bär, District Administrator of the district of Hof
“The city of Hof has taken its shuttles to its heart! Of course, the shuttles are not yet able to provide the kind of autonomous public transport that many people might wish for. However, we are making enormous progress with this project phase and at some point the dreams and wishes for autonomous mobility in local urban transport will also come true. As a city, we are doing everything we can to continue the project and would definitely be on board again.”
Eva Döhla, Mayor of the City of Hof
Valeo, as consortium leader, then briefly presented the project and emphasized the excellent cooperation between the project partners over the past few years. Each project partner also presented their SMO II project results.
After the official program, the guests were able to talk to the individual partners at information stands and have the project results presented on demonstrators.
The project will continue as planned until the end of September 2024.
Project partners from business, research and local authorities
The municipal project partners consisted of the city of Hof, the district of Hof and the district of Kronach. Academic partners were Chemnitz University of Technology, Hof University of Applied Sciences and Coburg University of Applied Sciences. Partners from industry and the private sector completed the list with DB Regio Bus, REHAU Automotive SE & Co. KG, Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. KG and the consortium leader Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH. The logistics agency Logistikagentur Oberfranken e.V. and Nuts One GmbH were involved in the role of project coordinator.
