Certification Autonomous Transport in Public Space

A driver's license for a bus? Does that exist? No not yet, but maybe in the future. The Certification Autonomous Transport in Public Space - CAVIDOR - project tests what a driving test for an automated bus should look like.

Develop an open system

Human drivers are being trained to pass the driving test, but a driver's license for autonomous vehicles does not yet exist. The CAVIDOR project provides, among other things, input for a driver's license for automated driving (bus) vehicles. For example, it should be possible to have an autonomous vehicle take a regular driving test as long as the national test agency CBR cannot yet conduct a special driving test for autonomous vehicles. The aim is that with this special 'driving test' a vehicle is suitable for independent traffic participation. Strict conditions then apply to guarantee safety, such as a route that the vehicle must adhere to. In 3-5 years, CAVIDOR wants to develop an open system to control and monitor autonomous vehicles.

First and last mile facilities

Together with the transport companies, the Metropole Region  Rotterdam The Haque MRDH is looking for innovations that make public transport more attractive, cheaper, safer, and environmentally friendly. An example is the automation in public transport, with which public transport companies can provide a more flexible and inexpensive public transport product. In the (long) term, for example, it should be possible to deploy autonomous (bus) vehicles to transport travellers in quiet areas. The so-called first and last mile facilities. These are intended to bring more travellers to public transport hubs.

Self-driving buses

In this project, RET, robotTUNER, Green Dino, Rocsys and MRDH are working together on the Certification Autonomous Transport in Public Space (CAVIDOR). MRDH supports the project financially from the AVLM program with a contribution of 1.3 million euros. The total costs for phase 1 of the project amount to 2.6 million euros. In the first phase, the parties investigate the possibility of installing autonomous technology in existing buses (micro - mini - macro) and allowing it to drive autonomously. robotTUNER purchased RET bus 401 for this experiment. The project's next step is an experiment in which a bus autonomously goes through the car wash, parks and connects to charge.

On 5 December, the CAVIDOR project demonstrated, among other things, the interaction between autonomously driving buses and a loading robot and a bus driving simulator at the RET site on Kleiweg in Rotterdam.

The original Dutch news item is available on Rijbewijs voor autonome voertuigen

CAVIDOR is a COLUMBUSS-project