PROCEDURE
To keep the generally prevailing skepticism towards new technologies within the population as low as possible, the project involves citizens in the transformation process from the very beginning. The mobility solutions developed will be integrated into the inner-city traffic in Aachen already at an early stage of the project and optimized in iterative loops. The City of Aachen, as consortium partner, will provide selected routes on the Ring, Campus Boulevard and Market for the test phase.
For this project, the consortium uses the electric vehicles developed by the Aachen spin-off e.GO. They should be connected to a cloud infrastructure through consistent networking. Each vehicle can drive autonomously and independently reach the route destinations planned by the Fusion Center. Therefore, algorithms for autonomous driving in the e.GO will be implemented within the scope of this project. For synergetic reasons, we collaborate with BMBF project PARIS which is also based at RWTH Aachen University.
PROJECT APPROACH
We do not only concentrate on transporting people, but also take a holistic view of the transport concept and include goods and merchandise in the idea for transportation. This goal is achieved through globally optimized services delivered through a mobility cloud. Every citizen may choose between different services and thus also to determine the price. For example, a businessman can use a van for himself if he wants to use the commute time for office work. In addition to making urban transport more flexible, our concept can also improve mobility for rural areas close to cities in the medium term.
A possible key technology in this context is a fully autonomous transport system that is tailored to the needs of citizens, optimized and highly flexible, and that completely changes life in the city and between urban areas and rural areas through new mobility options. If citizens can take an autonomously driving vehicle at any time, they no longer need their car. Also, the daily commute time to work in an autonomously driving and networked vehicle can freely be spent. In addition, goods and merchandise can simultaneously be transported to rural region.
Central aspects of APEROL
FUNDING
Funding
Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
Funding guideline
Automated and networked driving
Project term
27 months
Funding amount
€ 4,691,277.00