MobileEye, a subsidiary of US tech company Intel, and Sixt are to run an autonomous taxi on public roads in Germany. The vehicle should start operating in Munich from next year. And eventually in other cities and countries.
'robot taxi' - as MobileEye and Sixt call the vehicle - was introduced by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, MobileEye CEO Amnon Shashua and Sixt chief Alexander Sixt at the 2021 edition of IAA Mobility. MobileEye calls Germany a logical location for the introduction of the autonomous taxi service. For instance, the company points to Germany's famous road network. The presence of many major car manufacturers also plays a role, including MobileEye's customers and partners. In Germany, autonomous vehicles with level 4 autonomy are allowed to take to the road independently, without a human driver behind the wheel.
Previous test in Germany
MobileEye previously tested a prototype autonomous vehicle in Germany. This involved testing an autonomous vehicle on roads in and around Munich. The video below captures this testing phase.
Now MobileEye is partnering with international mobility services provider Sixt. Customers can use the mobile apps of Sixt and Moovit - a sister company of MobileEye - to order a ride in the autonomous taxi. The taxi can accommodate six passengers and is fully electric-powered.
How does the self-driving system work?
vehicle can drive autonomously thanks to a package of assistance systems. Central to this is MobileEye Drive, the company's self-driving system. This uses about eleven cameras, LiDAR sensors and radar sensors placed on the vehicle. In doing so, the cameras operate independently of the LiDAR and radar sensors, creating a redundant system.
The sensors provide data to algorithms running on a system-on-a-chip. Developed specifically for the vehicle, it is called EyeQ. The Responsibility-Sensitive Safety model filters the data. This is a technology-neutral safety model that helps both industry and governments define safe driving behaviour by an automated vehicle.
Data from other drivers
vehicle will also use the Road Experience Management (REM) system. This system uses data collected by other drivers to improve maps for autonomous vehicles. REM uses this anonymised data to keep maps up-to-date, which is challenging in practice. For instance, the road network is constantly changing. However, only a limited number of vehicles are available for road mapping.
robot taxi will initially operate on German roads in and around Munich. In time, MobileEye and Sixt plan to roll out the service to other European cities as well. When exactly we can expect the service is unclear; the parties talk about "later this decade". Outside Europe, MobileEye works with sister company Moovit.
Other parties
Other parties will also make use of MobileEye's autonomous technology. for example, Germany's Schaeffler Group announced at IAA the integration of the technology into its self-driving shuttles. French companies Transdev ATV and Lohr Group previously announced the integration of the technology in the Udelv Transporter and the i-Cristal shuttle.
In the presentation below at IAA Mobility 2021, MobileEye chief Shashua explains the technology.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
