CITY AUTOMATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM (CATS): THE LEGACY OF AN INNOVATIVE EUROPEAN PROJECT

CATS is a collaborative European project promoting driverless vehicles that ended in December 2014. This contribution explains how the project evolved, including the handling of unexpected events and concentrating on lessons learned. The constructor and vehicle had to be changed for economic reasons in the middle of the project timeline. A second constructor went bankrupt, although access to his vehicles could be secured. For security and legal reasons, part of the final demonstration was relocated at short notice to the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, where around 1600 people were transported during 16 days of vehicle operation. Reactions to the driverless vehicle concept were overwhelmingly positive. Implications for the acceptability of driverless vehicles in Europe and elsewhere are discussed

Quelle place pour la voiture en ville ?

http://interstices.info/display.jsp?id=c_9550National audienceUn point de vue subjectif sur l'avenir de la voiture en ville, et sur les apports des technologies robotiques pour contribuer à l'amélioration des modes de transport urbains

CyberCars: review of first projects

A consortium of 15 European research institutes and private industrial companies, have grouped together to form the CyberCars/CyberMove programs. The programs objective, sponsored by the EC, is to create a new option of Intelligent Transport Systems based on road vehicles with fully automated capabilities, or CTS (Cybernetic Transportation System). This article describes the first projects which are now running or which are at the planification stag

Pioneering driverless electric vehicles in Europe: the City Automated Transport System (CATS)

International audienceThe City Automated Transport System (CATS) was a collaborative FP7 European project that lasted from 2010 to 2014. Its objective was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of driverless electric vehicles in European cities. This contribution explains how the project was implemented by 11 teams in five countries, culminating with practical trials of driverless vehicles in Strasbourg, France; Ploiesti, Romania; and Lausanne, Switzerland. The Navya vehicles used were able to transport up to eight passengers, in an open vehicle where passengers could recline against lumbar support cushions. After extensive road testing in Strasbourg, the final demonstration took place at the EPFL campus in Lausanne, where around 1600 people were transported safely during 16 days of vehicle operation. Three vehicles were used, a fourth remaining on campus as a backup. Although no driver was present, a student was available on board of each vehicle to respond to questions from the passengers and to handle the three points on the 1.8 km route where there was insufficient leeway for two vehicles to pass each other. Passenger reactions to the driverless vehicle concept were collected by questionnaire and were overwhelmingly positive. Caveats include limited access for people with disabilities and the risk that a regular service based on this new concept might compete with walking and cycling rather than with transport by car. Implications for the acceptability of driverless electric vehicles in Europe and elsewhere are discussed