AuRa Project Magdeburg: When the Cargo Bike Drives Autonomously

Street Approval May Still Take Time

Despite the significant findings, street approval could still take some time. Project leader Prof. Stephan Schmidt believes the system could be used outside the campus in the city in about seven years at best. Condition: The technology needs to become smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective. As with automobiles, the legal situation also plays a role. Currently, a human must still be able to intervene at any time. Magdeburg's Mayor also pointed out that there are currently not enough parking spaces for cargo bikes in the city.

Follow-up Project: Autonomous Micromobiles as a Goal

At least there is follow-up funding from state funds, initially until the end of 2023. An apt name: AuRa Brain. Because the new project phase aims to develop a standardized "brain" for the autonomously driving bikes. Moreover, the focus will be on examining the use and application in last-mile logistics. Tom Assmann from the university aims to soon test a prototype under real conditions in Magdeburg's city traffic. Corporate partners will help the autonomous cargo bikes reach market maturity as quickly as possible.

Background: Autonomous Cars are Actually Unsuitable

Cities worldwide, especially in Europe, are under enormous pressure to change. Urban areas must make their traffic CO2-neutral in the medium term, researchers explain the background of the follow-up project. New paradigms, such as the 15-minute city, fundamentally change the nature of mobility and how public space is allocated in cities, the scientists explain. Ideally, future streets would be characterized by playing children and become a meeting point for people, additionally designed to meet the needs of "weaker" road users. Examples such as shared spaces in Germany, Superblocks in Barcelona, car-free city center in Madrid, and 70 percent bike share in Groningen clearly show: The development towards people-centric streets is happening. E-scooters, hoverboards, booming e-bike sales, and annually doubling cargo bike sales clearly indicate that city traffic will become significantly more digital and micromobile in the future, argue the researchers around Assmann.

"The currently developed autonomous cars and their conventional approaches to implementing autonomous driving are not suitable for this future of the city. Cars and robotaxis are simply too large, heavy, and cumbersome. The route planning mechanisms so far assume (empty) roads with strict lane separation and directed traffic, where pedestrians are considered obstacles rather than equal road users. Thus, current approaches lead to the Frozen Robot Problem - Autonomous cars stop in unstructured traffic spaces and do not move or only very slowly," the researchers outlined the situation.

For micromobiles, which can better adapt to people-centric streets due to significantly lower mass, speed, and size, there are currently no adequate solutions. This was the aim of the project. The solution consists of autonomous driving functions designed for peaceful coexistence and risk-minimized driving.

"The AuRa Brain maps this and can be installed as a module on various micromobiles, allowing them to drive autonomously in unstructured traffic spaces. This creates the universal autonomy solution for the growing micromobility market," the researchers outlined.