“In terms of the long term aim of an on-demand shuttle concept in a suburban area, such as Borgfeld, high-precision maps are one of the main parts of a successful realization”, explained OPA3L project manager Dr.-Ing. Mitja Echim from the Center for Industrial mathematics. The map material created with 3D laser scanners has the function of being a so-called “digital twin” for the area in the first phase of the project. Thanks to this, many experiments, such as comprehensive day-to-day driving manoeuvres and very rare, extreme situations, can be simulated on an office computer without the test vehicle actually having to be on the road. Thus, the basic algorithms for the controlling of an autonomous vehicle can be created on a computer”, stated Professor Christof Büskens from the Center for Industrial Mathematics at the University of Bremen. The time needed for very time-intense practical tests is reportedly reduced by this approach.
Digital twin will be transferred onto the vehicle computer
Echim further explained that the digital twin of the area will be transferred onto the vehicle computer in the second phase and will support the environment recognition and localization in real time.
Within the new OPA3L project, mathematics and computer science groups from the University of Bremen are working on the development of autonomous driving. OPA3L is the short version of the project name “Optimal Assisted, highly Automated, Autonomous and Cooperative Vehicle Navigation and Localization”. Engineering mathematicians (Optimization and Optimal Control working group) and also computer scientists (Cognitive Neuroinformatics working group and Virtual reality working group) from the University of Bremen, partners of the Bundeswehr University (German Armed Forces University) in Munich and industry partners wish to apply integrated approaches for autonomous and cooperative driving in the frame of the project. The project will run for four years.
Project volume of 5.3 million euros
DLR Space Administration and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) are providing 4.5 million euros of the total project volume of 5.3 million euros. The involved industry partners are funding a further 800,000 euros. It is intended that 2.5 million euros of the project volume go towards research at the University of Bremen. OPA3L is the continuation of the AO-Car project (“Autonome, optimale Fahrzeugnavigation und -steuerung im Fahrzeug-Fahrgast-Nahbereich für den städtischen Bereich”) (Autonomous, Optimum Vehicle Navigation and Controlling in the Vehicle-Passenger-Area for urban areas). Said project was conducted at the University of Bremen in the last two years.
Further information:
www.math.uni-bremen.de/zetem/ao-car (in German only)
Information for editorial teams:
In the week from July 22 – 26, 3019, the OPA3L project team is starting the first test campaign for the high-precision measuring (to the centimeter) of Bremen Borgfeld. The work can be accompanied and watched live on site (Park & Ride area at the tram stop Borgfeld / Borgfelder Allee in 28357 Bremen) between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on July 24, 2019. The possible activities are:
• Interviews with the project team and project management regarding the test campaign and the entire project
• Shooting of photo and video material during a test-drive through Borgfeld (NO autonomous driving of the vehicle!)
• A look at the data processing in real time (e.g. view of 3D point clouds on a laptop, thus the digital twin of the surroundings)
In order to better plan the test-drives, please register by sending an email to pressprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de by Tuesday, July 23, 2019.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Christof Büskens
Optimization and Optimal Control
Center for Industrial Mathematics (ZeTeM)
University of Bremen
Faculty of Mathematics / Computer Science
Phone: +49 421 218-63861
Email: bueskensprotect me ?!math.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
