In future, the bus will be studied at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration involving several faculties: in teaching and research, university staff will be addressing a wide range of questions, which may include, amongst others: How can user confidence in autonomous buses be improved? What do test participants pay attention to when they board the shuttle or whilst on the journey? How can all the information from various sources (sensors, image recognition) be presented clearly and optimally for users on interactive display screens? In addition, new battery technologies can be tested and optimised, and route-planning algorithms can be developed using simulation and hardware.
This enables the forward-looking topic of ‘automated driving’ to be investigated from the perspectives of various disciplines, such as technology, behavioural sciences and artificial intelligence. The faculties of Society and Economics, Technology and Bionics, and Communication and Environment at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences are particularly involved in this project. Beyond the university, the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) and various vocational colleges on both the German and Dutch sides are also involved. “The bus is the catalyst for this unique collaboration and is intended to serve as a kind of innovation vehicle on which various German and Dutch vocational colleges and universities are working together to tackle the future topic of automated driving in both teaching and research,” said Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.
Within the Euregio Rhine-Waal, there has been strong and intensive cross-border cooperation in many key areas for many decades. One such area is ‘mobility of the future’ through highly automated vehicles, which has become increasingly important in recent years. On the one hand, this represents a potential contribution to a future-proof public transport system; on the other, it is a necessary step towards climate-friendly and climate-neutral mobility.
Background
Both the Province of Gelderland and Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences have been active in the field of ‘smart mobility’ for many years. As part of a Living Lab within the CONUS project – funded by the European Regional Development Fund – Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is currently conducting research into autonomous public transport. Following the successful completion in December 2020 of the Interreg project ‘I-AT’, the Province of Gelderland has decided to transfer the two automated shuttles used in the project to educational institutions free of charge, in order to further deepen and consolidate their development within the framework of cross-border cooperation. One of the vehicles is in use at HAN and the ROC (vocational college) A12 Technova, whilst the second vehicle has been transferred to Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. These are six-seater shuttles that navigate using GPS, 3D imagery and radar. They are bespoke builds not yet ready for series production. In addition to the vehicles themselves, the expertise and software developed as part of the I-AT project are also being made available.
To ensure this forward-looking topic gains even greater traction within the educational landscape, the universities – HAN and HSRW – have agreed to establish a cross-border collaboration based on the two identical shuttles, involving vocational colleges in the NL-NRW border region. Euregio Rhine-Waal welcomes and supports this collaboration. The formal handover of the shuttle by the Regional Minister for Mobility of the Province of Gelderland, Deputy Christianne van der Wal, to the President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, on 24 November 2021, marked the start of this unique collaboration.
