Telekom and startup MIRA test remote-controlled shuttle bus in Bonn

This summer, Deutsche Telekom AG and MIRA GmbH launched a pilot project for teleoperated driving. The project partners are testing the shuttle service with a remote-controlled vehicle between different Telekom locations in Bonn. The prototype is an electrically powered shuttle bus. Instead of sitting in the vehicle, the driver or teleoperator sits in a control station. From there, he can monitor the traffic around the vehicle on several screens, which show live images from up to ten cameras, and steer the vehicle.

The control of the bus and the video images are transmitted via Telekom's 5G mobile network, which ensures the transmission of large volumes of data in near real time from the vehicle to the remote control station.

The city of Bonn has approved the pilot project on the one-kilometer route: However, a safety person must be on board to intervene at any time. Before the teleoperator takes control of the shuttle bus, they check all the driving functions together. Then they stay in contact.  

The advantage: Teleoperation can provide optimal support for automated shuttle fleets. For example, the technology avoids long idle and waiting times. Remotely controlling vehicles from a control station thus increases vehicle utilization. The startup MIRA, a subsidiary of Rheinmetall, aims to enable completely driverless operation in which one driver can monitor several vehicles of different types across locations.