Motivation and Objectives

The collaborative research project STADT:up brings together 22 partners, consisting of automobile industry, suppliers, and research institutions. Supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, they are working together to develop continuous automated driving and sustainable, intermodal mobility concepts for the city. This opens up enormous potential for future urban traffic: automated driving offers the opportunity to significantly increase road safety and utilise the existing infrastructure much more efficiently. And in conjunction with intermodal mobility solutions, road users can reach their destination comfortably, efficiently, and sustainably.

STADT:up is not only researching the latest AI-based methods and data-driven models along the entire signal processing chain, but also pioneering interaction concepts for continuous automated driving in the city. Based on this, experienceable driving functions are created, which are tested and demonstrated in challenging urban traffic scenarios. A particular focus here is on complex traffic situations at junctions, merging into dense traffic, passing obstacles in oncoming traffic, and interacting with vulnerable road users.

In addition to this, STADT:up develops concepts for sustainable, intermodal mobility in urban areas.

Research Content

Continuous automated driving in inner-city traffic requires both continuous system availability and the reliable detection of other road users and the safe control of complex traffic situations in which an automated vehicle interacts with other road users in a variety of ways.

For this reason, STADT:up is developing methods for the reliable recognition of the static and dynamic traffic environment and the robust fusion of different sensor technologies. Work is also being carried out on models for predicting the behaviour of road users and for the planning of behaviour and trajectories of automated vehicles, which take into account the various development possibilities of a traffic scene. The latest AI-based methods and data-driven models are being used.

STADT:up is also developing pioneering interaction concepts for continuous automated driving in the city based on user-centred design processes. The focus here is on both the measurement and evaluation of user states and the design of innovative display and operating concepts.

 

Building on these results, STADT:up is creating functional prototypes that can be experienced and which will be tested and demonstrated in challenging inner-city traffic scenarios as part of the project.

In addition to this, STADT:up is developing concepts for sustainable, intermodal mobility in urban areas, whereby the needs of all relevant stakeholders, from users and local authorities to the automotive industry, are identified in dialogue forums and considered in the concept development process. Of central importance is the question of how mixed traffic consisting of pedestrians, cyclists, private or shared vehicles and public transport will develop and what role automated mobility will play in the future. Potential influences – such as a strengthening of regionality and the development of local city centres, the change in infrastructure or the changing mobility behaviour of users, e.g. due to working from home or a growing awareness of energy and resources – will be analysed.

The five subprojects

01 Prospects of Urban Mobility
02 Human Factors
03 Environment and Context
04 Situation Analysis and Planning
05 Automated Driving