What will it take for autonomous vehicles to be widely deployed in public transportation within just a few years? The BRAVE10k research and implementation project aims to answer this question. The project kicked off this week with a kickoff meeting at the lead partner, INIT, in Karlsruhe.
Goal: Integrate 10,000 vehicles by 2030
The development of automated and autonomous vehicles has made significant progress in recent years. Following successful pilot projects and practical testing in real-world traffic conditions, the transition to regular operation is now imminent.
In this three-year project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and overseen by TÜV Rheinland, partners from public transportation, academia, technology, and consulting will explore how 10,000 autonomous vehicles can be integrated into public transportation by 2030.
An Ecosystem for Autonomous Vehicles
To this end, the consortium is developing standardized procedures and digital tools designed to significantly simplify the planning, tendering, approval, and operation of autonomous vehicles. The planned BRAVE10k ecosystem for autonomous vehicles includes, among other things:
- digital planning and tendering tools that support cities, transit agencies, and vehicle manufacturers in rolling out autonomous services
- a digital twin that virtually simulates operations, safety, and performance and makes them assessable
- a standardized classification of route requirements to systematically describe operating conditions and make them comparable
- the collection and intelligent use of real-world data to optimize planning and operations based on data
Active Involvement of the Industry
The work at Brave10k is complemented by active engagement with the industry: In the coming months, the project will launch a stakeholder management initiative to foster an open dialogue with the entire transportation industry.
Project Director Yasmin Wehrle (INIT) has high expectations for BRAVE10k:
“The development of automated and autonomous vehicles has come a long way in recent years. I am very much looking forward to the next three years and the numerous dialogs we have planned with the public transit industry. With BRAVE10k, we are taking the step away from pilot projects toward a scalable and economically viable public transit system of the future.”
Matthias Teichmann (schwarzenberg.tech) emphasizes:
“The path to 10,000 autonomous vehicles begins not only with vehicle technology, but also with targeted standards, processes, and approval procedures. With BRAVE10k, we are working together to lay the groundwork so that autonomous mobility can become a safe, efficient, and large-scale part of public transportation in the future.”
Matthias Hartwig, deputy managing director of IKEM, emphasizes the opportunities that may arise from the project:
“If we succeed in establishing autonomous vehicles as an integral part of public transportation, it would be a key building block for the future viability of Germany and Europe—both in terms of technological leadership and climate protection goals, as well as the desire for better mobility options for a growing and aging population.”
A broad-based consortium
About 20 partners are collaborating on the BRAVE10k project, supplemented by numerous associated partners from the professional and industrial sectors. In addition to IKEM, participants include: INIT GmbH (project management), Fraunhofer IVI, Fraunhofer EMI, Fraunhofer IOSB, schwarzenberg.tech GmbH, Valeo Schalter u. Sensoren GmbH, Bertrandt Technikum GmbH, Verkehrsgesellschaft Ludwigslust-Parchim mbH, Interlink GmbH, TrainGraphics GmbH, GOTECH GmbH, Fahrzeugmanagement Region Frankfurt RheinMain GmbH, SafeAD GmbH, RA Consulting GmbH, fka GmbH, German Institute for Standardization (DIN), Technical University of Munich, FZI Research Center for Information Technology, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
