KIRA: First L4 Trial Series Launched in Germany

Germany now also has its first test fleet of robotaxis, which are being used in L4 operation in the KIRA project. The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and Deutsche Bahn (DB), in cooperation with HEAG mobilo, the Offenbach district transport company and technology partners Mobileye, ioki and Bosch, are starting test operations with a handful of vehicles.

In the first phase, the NIO ETS 8 electric vehicles with Mobileye’s self-driving technology are still being used with a safety driver and without passengers, but this is set to change in the next phase. A limited group of test passengers and their feedback will then also be included. In the subsequent phases, which have not yet been described in more detail, the shuttles will also operate without safety drivers.

The vehicles will operate in parts of the city of Darmstadt and in the western area of the Offenbach district. According to the project website, the operating area was selected with the following considerations in mind:

In order to find out how autonomous on-demand vehicles can be integrated into existing public transport services in the long term, it is important to gain experience in both rural and urban transport environments.

The operating area is to be expanded step by step. The vehicles will also be integrated into the transport association’s app so that passengers can easily order the vehicles.

The electric vehicles from Chinese manufacturer NIO will be equipped with 4 short-range and 2 medium-range radars, 13 cameras, as well as 6 short-range and 3 medium-range lidars.

This makes it the first test fleet in Germany to be tested at SAE Level 4 and to receive approval in accordance with the law on autonomous driving in Germany.

The only downside is that neither the vehicle platform (NIO) nor the self-driving technology (Mobileye) are German technologies.

This article was also published in Germany.