Mobility of the Future Picks up Speed with Sissi and Franz

At a blind junction, a stopped bus obscures a group of pedestrians at the zebra crossing. An automated vehicle wants to turn right, but has to detect both concealed pedestrians and a cyclist in the blind spot. A potentially dangerous situation arises, and the automated vehicle faces a complex conflict situation with limited visibility. To master these and similar situations, automated vehicles in Ingolstadt are to analyse complex traffic scenarios and learn from them. The AImotion Bavaria research institute at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (THI) uses two research vehicles for this purpose, which the scientists have nicknamed Sissi and Franz with a twinkle in their eyes.

The two vehicles, a BMW iX3 and an Audi Q8, were purchased at the end of 2023 with funds from the Bavarian High-Tech Agenda of the Free State of Bavaria and equipped with sensors and communication technology for real-life traffic. Since the beginning of the year, they have been collecting data on real road traffic in Ingolstadt, particularly at busy junctions where complex conflict situations frequently occur. The aim is to create an intelligent traffic system that better protects all road users and improves traffic flow.

The central element is the cooperative aspect: the vehicles communicate not only with each other, but also with the urban infrastructure in Ingolstadt - for example, with the sensors installed on traffic light poles in the so-called high-definition test field, which comprises three junctions in Ingolstadt between Goethestraße, Schillerstraße, and Friedrich-Ebert-Straße. The sensors installed there enable a predictive exchange of information between ‘intelligent junctions’ and vehicles in real time. This means that the vehicle knows in advance, i.e., before it approaches the junction, when a traffic light phase will change, recognises typical behaviour patterns of other road users at the junction, and can react accordingly in an anticipatory and therefore safe manner. The interaction between vehicle, traffic lights, and traffic environment creates an adaptive, networked system that not only observes but also interprets and continuously improves.

Data is collected in compliance with data protection regulations and shadow mode: the vehicles do not intervene in what is happening, but observe, calculate, and provide valuable insights for AI development.

‘We are creating a unique platform for practical AI research in public road traffic in the centre of Ingolstadt,’ says Professor Torsten Schön, Research Professor for Computer Vision for Intelligent Mobility Systems at THI. ‘The vehicles provide the basis for new solutions - with direct benefits for the population and their safety in urban traffic.’ Professor Michael Botsch, Head of the AI research institute AImotion Bavaria, adds: "Our long-term goal in Ingolstadt is to develop a protective traffic system in the eastern part of the city, which is simply about vehicles and infrastructure using artificial intelligence to protect road users. Together with our sister institutes in the CARSISSMA research centre as the AImotion Bavaria Institute, we also want to contribute to the so-called ‘Vision Zero’, i.e., the reduction of traffic accidents with serious injuries or even fatalities."

Initial tests took place at the CARISSMA outdoor centre at THI. For several months now, Sissi and Franz have also been travelling more frequently on roads in and around Ingolstadt. The data collected in the meantime comprises several terabytes - a valuable basis for further research.

On the 22nd of May 2025, THI will present its research vehicles Sissi and Franz at the BAIOSPHERE CONFERENCE MOBILITY - BAI.CON 2025 in front of the Congress Centrum Ingolstadt. All interested parties are welcome to attend.