From summer 2022, IOV Omnibusverkehr GmbH Ilmenau will for the first time use two automated minibuses from the manufacturer EasyMile, type EZ10 Generation 3, in regular scheduled services between the railway station and the campus of Technische Universität Ilmenau. The Thuringian Innovation Centre for Mobility (ThIMo), based at the univesity, is supporting the campus bus project as a hands-on living lab: Scientists from five departments are researching and developing innovative radio and vehicle technologies - in the laboratory and on the streets of Ilmenau. The research group for Public Relations and Technology supports the research and analyses the perception and acceptance of autonomous shuttle buses among the population. The pilot project, which is funded by two Thuringian ministries, is a first important step in the development of intelligent, sustainable and user-oriented transport in the Ilm district.
During the route inspection, IOV Managing Director Matthias Höring and Constantin Pitzen from Büro autoBus, who has accompanied the project from the beginning, led the 13-member project group 2 kilometres from the planned starting stop behind Ilmenau railway station to the final stop on the university campus. Together with the civil engineering office, the public order office, police and fire brigade and the testing company DEKRA, final adjustments to the infrastructure were coordinated that are necessary for the smooth operation of the buses, which are only accompanied by a safety driver. The French company EasyMile, which develops transport solutions for autonomous passenger and freight transport, sent two representatives from its Berlin office to Ilmenau to inspect the route and the positions and possible extensions of the stops. Robert Haase from EasyMile is convinced of the route: "Connecting the train station with various stations on the university campus is a perfect application scenario for the use of autonomous shuttles and an excellent example of bridging gaps on the so-called first and last mile."
Once EasyMile has classified the route as fundamentally suitable for autonomous bus transport and DEKRA has drawn up its route and vehicle appraisal on the basis of the inspection, there is nothing standing in the way of successful approval of the automated minibuses. They will be delivered when the newly constructed street, which connects Neuhäuser Weg and Ehrenbergstraße, is completed. Before the buses are sensor-measured on the route, the last hardware components must be integrated and preparations made for the depot with charging facilities located on the ThIMo site.
The city of Ilmenau and the Thuringian Innovation Centre for Mobility are already working with the industry partners Funkwerk Systems and Lehmann & Partner in the P:Mover project on the planning for further sections of the route for the use of even more highly automated buses.
The planned route
The bus route will start at Ilmenau railway station on the other side of the railway tracks in Neuhäuser Weg. At the Nelson Mandela Bridge, it turns into the new street and runs through Ehrenbergstraße, where the first stop will be set up at the level of the Technologie- und Gründerzentrum. The route continues past the Ernst-Abbe-Zentrum and student halls of residence, and the current bus stop is used as the second stop in front of the Ehrenberg canteen. After another stop at the university library, the final stop will be near the Audimax at Helmholtzplatz. On the way back, the route leads from Ehrenbergstraße a short distance via Langewiesener Straße back to Neuhäuser Weg in order to avoid turning manoeuvres. A possible extension of the route leads from Helmholtzplatz via the street Am Ehrenberg around the Leonardo Da Vinci building and the vocational school centre.