Germany gets its first test track for highly automated vehicles. In early September Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt signed the Innovation Charter for the Digital Test Field Highway.
Telematics applications are increasingly becoming the norm. This is also confirmed by the signing of the “Innovation Charter for the Digital Test Field Highway” by the Minister of Transport, representative of the Free State of Bavaria, the automotive industry and the IT industry. Thus it may become reality for the first time that highly automated vehicles are driving on Germany’s roads. So far, this is only allowed in America on some routes. To keep the German automotive industry a leader in the field, this test track is an important step.
The A9 becomes a test track
In the Innovation Charter, the actors agree to set up and operate the Digital Test field on the A9 motorway in Bavaria together. On the route innovations of mobility 4.0 will be tested, evaluated and developed. At least it sounds pretty positive when the Federal Minister of Transport and digital infrastructure, Alexander Dobrindt, notes that the automated and networked driving is the greatest mobility revolution since the invention of the automobile. It shows that even politics has recognized that nothing can stop automated driving.
Test track for everyone
With the digital test field highway the future of the automobile is hitting the streets. The route will be open to all innovative companies: automotive manufacturers, suppliers, digital companies and research institutions. They all can test their developments on the most modern highway in the world in real operation.
Full digitization of the test track
In addition, Marcel Huber, Head of Bavarian State Chancellery and State Minister for Federal Affairs and Special Affairs, pointed out that the infrastructure of this route will be fully digitized. First measures to digitization should start later this year. Emphasis will be on Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication in real time. This is possible by using the latest transmission technologies. Also, the future mobile radio standard 5G, the successor of the LTE standard with a much higher bandwidth and faster data transfers will come to use on the track.
Image source: Canstockphoto
