Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Europe’s largest automobile association ADAC has partnered with the NeMo.bil (New Mobility) project to support the testing and development of its autonomous vehicles.
Coordinated by INYO Mobility GmbH, the NeMo.bil project is developing a swarm-like mobility system which enables on-demand passenger and freight transportation in rural areas.
ADAC will support the multi-million euro project – funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) – by offering its 100,000 square-metre multi-purpose testing ground.
“The ADAC provides NeMo.bil with its test facility at the Mobility Test Centre in Penzing for test drives with autonomous lightweight vehicles. The focus of the testing is on safety and convoy drives, which are particularly relevant for swarm mobility, as well as the coupling and decoupling process of individual vehicles,” Head of ADAC Mobility Test Centre Dr. Reinhard Kolke told Zag Daily.
Two types of vehicles will be used to serve the public transport system: the NeMo.Cab and the NeMo.Pro. The NeMo.Cab is an automated driving ultra-light vehicle designed to serve the first and last-mile transport of passengers. These vehicles form a convoy which is then pulled by the larger automated vehicle – the NeMo.Pro – which can transport up to 20 people at once, as well as serving as mobility charging stations.
This on-demand mobility service aims to merge the different vehicles to travel longer distances quickly and sustainably, while offering people in rural areas an individualised public transport system to take them from the start to end of their journey without the need to switch.
Dr. Kolke highlights the need for autonomous vehicles in rural areas.
“Today, bus routes are already being cancelled due to a shortage of drivers. In the future, in sparsely populated areas, we will face the choice of either driving autonomously or not driving at all.
“Automated vehicles can contribute to ensuring access to mobility for everyone in rural areas, but especially for those who do not have their own car or driver’s licence.”
The ADAC Mobility Test Centre has already been the venue for testing components from NeMo.bil as orchestrated by Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. Now, it will be directly involved with the project as an associated partner.
“With the partnership with NeMo.bil, the ADAC aims to advance the development of a new form of mobility.”
