• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Advertise
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Features list
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsor an article
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Subscribe to Newsletter

Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Editorial Sections A-Z
    • Agriculture
    • Aircraft
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Automation
    • Autonomous vehicles
    • Business
    • Computing
    • Construction
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Drones
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial robots
    • Industry
    • Infrastructure
    • Investments
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Marine
    • Material handling
    • Materials
    • Mining
    • Promoted
    • Research
    • Robotics
    • Science
    • Sensors
    • Service robots
    • Software
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Transportation
    • Warehouse robots
    • Wearables
  • Press releases
  • Events

Autonomous local public transport introduced in southern Germany

December 1, 2020 by David Edwards

Autonomous local public transport is being introduced in southern Germany through a research project funded with €7 million.

The RABus project is one of the implemented measures of the strategic goals for automated and networked mobility in the southern German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport of Baden-Wuerttemberg, handed over the notice of funding in the amount of €7 million to the RABus consortium.

The consortium includes the following organisations and companies:

  • Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart (FKFS);
  • Karlsruher Institute for Technology (KIT);
  • Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr;
  • Stadtverkehr Friedrichshafen with DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee; and
  • ZF Friedrichshafen.

Andreas Brand, mayor of the city of Friedrichshafen, says: “The funding makes us proud, confirms us and drives us decisively further in the direction of future-oriented mobility.

Winfried Herrmann (left), Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Minister of Transport, and Professor Dr-Ing Hans-Christian Reuss from the FKFS on behalf of the consortium

“Since 2018, the city of Friedrichshafen has been investing in the construction and development of a test field for automated driving together with numerous partners from science, medium-sized businesses and industry.

“For good reason: the city is a cradle of mobility history, the headquarters of ZF and the center of a region that develops and enhances mobility at sea, on land and in the air.”

The development, implementation and testing of economical and reliable operation with automated vehicles is of great relevance for the future of local public transport.

Currently, automated vehicles in road-bound public transport are usually only travelling at low speed. This leads to longer travel times and thus to less acceptance and less use.

Changing this is the goal of the research project RABus: Mannheim and Friedrichshafen – supported by the respective traffic associations – act as real laboratories.

In both cities, a public transport system with electrified and automated vehicles is to be established by the end of 2023.

In the Mannheim real-life laboratory, the focus is on automated operation in mixed traffic in a new urban quarter; in the Friedrichshafen real-life laboratory, the focus is on automated countryside operation.

In order to achieve automated and safe driving behavior in the respective environment, the vehicles will operate in regular traffic at acceptable speeds – both in urban and extra-urban areas.

Shuttles from 2getthere, a subsidiary of the ZF Friedrichshafen AG, are used for this purpose.

They offer space for up to 22 people and, with their compact dimensions of 6 x 2.1 x 2.8 meters, can be integrated into the urban traffic flow according to demand and independent of the timetable.

Torsten Gollewski, executive vice president autonomous mobility systems at ZF Friedrichshafen, says: “Our autonomous shuttles are equipped with electric drives, state-of-the-art sensor technology and central computers equipped with artificial intelligence.

“They can also communicate with the infrastructure via connectivity services specifically designed for Level 4 systems. We are pleased that the shuttles will now be in operation in Germany for the first time.

“The approach of the real-life laboratory in Friedrichshafen is a milestone for the urban mobility of the future, as the connection of rural areas to city centers will be very important in the future and will complement the on-demand needs from the outside areas towards the city center; just as we are establishing it in the real-life laboratory in Mannheim.

“The shuttles are equipped with an autonomous travel system, the ‘Virtual Driver’ and other components, a considerable proportion of them were developed in Baden-Wuerttemberg – here in the ‘Land of Tinkerers’; and we are proud to make a contribution to the future of public transport.”

The scientific community is also intensively involved in the project through accompanying research on acceptance, cost-effectiveness and technical solutions.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Related stories you might also like…

Filed Under: Autonomous vehicles, News Tagged With: automated, autonomous, city, consortium, equipped, friedrichshafen, future, laboratory, mannheim, mobility, operation, project, public, rabus, real-life, shuttles, traffic, transport, urban, vehicles, zf

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

Latest articles

  • What Happens When Automation Fails? Handling Errors in Smart Systems
  • How Autonomous Trucks Are Changing Logistics: Pros And Cons
  • Skild AI developing ‘human-like robot brain’ with AI solutions from Hewlett Packard
  • Autonomous Solutions Inc moves into construction sector with SoftBank backing
  • What the Robotics Industry Needs from Colleges: A Systems-Based Look at Education’s Role in Automation
  • The Silent Signal Crisis: How AI in E-commerce is Only as Smart as the Data it Misses
  • Sunrise Robotics emerges from stealth with $8.5 million funding
  • Industrial vehicle automation specialist ASI opens new office in Utah
  • Premier Automation launches innovation hub with support from Pennsylvania
  • Opinion: AI’s ‘real value is in eliminating everyday inefficiencies’

Secondary Sidebar

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT