Autonomous Driving

Key Question

Do driverless on-demand shuttles on the "first and last mile" in a networked overall system lead to greater acceptance of public transport?

Objective

The development of suburban areas with an autonomously operated on-demand service for an improved connection to the existing public transport system. The central objective of the RealLabHH project is to provide recommendations for environmentally and climate-friendly mobility concepts. The results will be presented at the ITS World Congress 2021 in Hamburg.

Starting Point

The Hamburg district of Bergedorf offers the ideal conditions for putting autonomous driving through its paces. The suburban region with around 36,000 inhabitants has to meet a high demand for individual and seamless mobility and has to be connected to the region’s S-Bahn. The district which is already very well connected to public transport, will close gaps in the first and last mile between home and the next public transport stop with the additional service. From August to October 2021, they will travel at 18 km/h through Bergedorf. The vehicles offer space for 12 passengers as well as a VHH vehicle attendant. They monitor the automated journey and can intervene if necessary. The shuttles will be bookable in an on-demand service via an app, with the shuttle routes being put together according to passenger requests and not following a predefined route. Passengers can ride in the shuttles free of charge during the trial operation.

Approach

The field test and deployment of shuttle prototypes in the sub-urban area of a metropolis with the aim of evaluating behavioral changes and acceptance of autonomous on-demand operation on the “first and last mile” in public transport. Another aspect of the approach is the focus on the technology required for the safe and comfortable operation of such vehicles. The DEKRA Technology Center accompanies the approval process of the vehicles with independent expertise and ensures the safety of the passengers.

The project will be carried out as a three-month trial operation in a real-life application during the ITS World Congress in Hamburg. Up to three prototype vehicles from the manufacturer EasyMile will be used, accompanied by security and observation personnel. VHH is responsible for the operation in the project; it provides the personnel and coordinates the operational process.

The back-end systems for planning the routes, integration into the regular service, user administration as well as communication with the shuttles are provided by DLR, Continental Automotive and EasyMile.

The test fleet will be bookable via an app developed by Continental Automotive. The demand-driven routes of the shuttles will be calculated by DLR and integrated as intermodal connection proposals into the scheduled services of the Hamburg public transport system (HVV).

Process

Hardware Setup

The final hardware setup is functionally integrated in vehicle 1 and the final homologation begins. The connection to the VHH control center is established and the setup of vehicles 2 and 3 begins.

Completion of Vehicle Construction

Completion of the assembly of all vehicles and start of the "on-demand" tests and homologation of the track areas in Hamburg.

Launch of Autonomous Shuttles

Commissioning of the vehicles and services for passengers. Start of the 3-month operation in Hamburg.

January 2021

May 2021

August 2021

Results

First demand-responsive area transport with an automated shuttle fleet, integrated into the classic public transport system
Creation of a prototypical control center workstation for remote control operations for automated vehicles in local public transport
Evaluation of behavioral changes and acceptance of an autonomous on-demand operation on the “first and last mile” in public transport

The Team

Dr. Andree Hohm

Head of Autonomous Driving Program Continental