Autonomous Driving on Public Roads

In early February, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) granted researchers at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg (THA) at the Technology Transfer Center (TTZ) in Landsberg am Lech permission to test a Level 4 autonomous driving system on public roads throughout Germany. This means that the test vehicle can be operated without a driver within a clearly defined test area. The THA is thus the first university of applied sciences (HAW) in Germany to take the lead in obtaining nationwide Level 4 approval—and the second university overall to do so.

Autonomous driving is part of THA’s portfolio—both in academic programs and in research. With autonomous electric race cars they developed themselves, students from the StarkStrom Augsburg e.V. club regularly take top spots in the internationally oriented Formula Student competition. Researchers in the field of autonomous systems at the TTZ Landsberg am Lech, many of whom were previously involved with StarkStrom, have now achieved a breakthrough: They can now test Level 4 autonomous driving on public roads—though the drives must still be supervised by a technical supervisor. “I am proud that the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg is the first German university of applied sciences to receive a Germany-wide Level 4 permit from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, and the second university in Germany overall to do so. The team has worked hard for years to achieve this success. This is research for the future of mobility. With this approval, the researchers at the TTZ Landsberg am Lech have deservedly secured a pole position,” says Prof. Dr. Gordon Thomas Rohrmair, President of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg.

The groundwork for nationwide Level 4 approval was laid at the TTZ Data Science and Autonomous Systems in Landsberg am Lech under the scientific direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Markgraf—as part of the collaborative project “New Mobility” (NeMo.bil), which was awarded the German Mobility Prize in 2024 in the “New Mobility Solutions” category. NeMo.bil aims to develop an innovative, swarm-capable mobility system that will serve as a flagship for all of Germany, enabling a new form of sustainable and demand-driven passenger and freight transport in rural areas. To this end, self-driving lightweight vehicles—known as “Cabs”—are being developed that can autonomously connect to and disconnect from one another. 

The test drives of the NeMo.bil lightweight vehicles in real-world conditions represent a milestone toward autonomous driving on public roads within the research project. In simple terms, the path toward autonomous vehicles is divided into five levels of automation: assisted (1), partially automated (2), highly automated (3), fully automated (4), and autonomous (5). Level 4 allows the vehicle to independently handle the entire driving task within a defined area—such as an urban route—so that the human driver no longer needs to be ready to intervene and becomes a passenger. 

With the amendment to the Road Traffic Act (StVG) of July 28, 2021 (AFGBV), the Federal Republic of Germany has established the legal framework for automated or autonomous driving. Testing Level 4 systems is regulated by law in Germany and requires a multi-stage regulatory approval process—including an operating permit from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) as well as approvals from local authorities. “We applied for a Germany-wide permit to operate on public roads with a maximum permitted speed of up to 60 km/h. Highways are excluded. We have successfully completed all necessary approval procedures, so we can now begin preparations for the first test drive at the Technology Transfer Center in Landsberg am Lech,” explains the scientific director of the TTZ Landsberg am Lech, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Markgraf.

With the Level 4 approval, the safety and reliability of the autonomous driving functions can now be optimized for the Cabs under real-world conditions. “The Level 4 approval from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) enables us to conduct autonomous test drives on routes we have defined on public roads—essentially in a real-world laboratory—and to expand our research environment. In doing so, we are testing the extent to which edge cases—that is, scenarios that occur under unusual, often extreme conditions in public traffic—can be handled. In this way, we will collect valuable data for the autonomous NeMo.bil lightweight vehicles to make them increasingly safer and more reliable,” explains Markgraf.

Monitoring of the trips by a technical supervisor is still required during the testing phase. “The Cab is equipped with technology that takes over the tasks of a human driver. Safety drivers accompany our Cab just as a driving instructor accompanies a student driver—this is still required for Level 4 testing and research,” explains Markgraf. Technological requirements must also be met for the fully automated test drives. The vehicles are therefore equipped with sensors—including LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) optical sensors, which use laser light to measure the distance to objects and thus create a precise 3D model of the surroundings—as well as cameras, radar, detailed maps of the surroundings, and a digital control platform.

The Level 4 permit for the TTZ Landsberg am Lech is valid for four years and can be extended afterward if necessary. “With this Level 4 permit, we now have the freedom to conduct trials nationwide. The next step is to continue preparing the systems and technology so that we can begin the first test drives in the second quarter of this year,” said Markgraf.

The research activities in the NeMo.bil project are funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). As part of the Bavarian High-Tech Agenda, the Free State of Bavaria is funding the Technology Transfer Center for Data Science and Autonomous Systems (TTZ Landsberg am Lech). The district and the city of Landsberg am Lech are providing the premises for the TTZ.