It had already done its tests, but until now it had not been announced loudly and with a call to the public: Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has put into circulation, for the first time, a 100% autonomous bus in a real environment.
The scenario chosen for this trial by fire? Of course, the mountain of Montjuïc. For 10 days (from this Tuesday, November 4 until November 14), this futuristic vehicle will be making a tour open to anyone who wants to try it. Yes, you read that right: you can get in and try it out.
Where do I catch the bus of the future?
The bus will operate every day from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and it is not a ghost: it has fixed stops. The route, 1.8 kilometers (round trip), connects Plaça Dante with the area of the Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys.
The complete route includes 6 stops so you can get on or off:
- Plaça Dante
- Miramar Av.
- Plaça Neptú
- Av. Estadi / Pg. Olímpic
- Joan Miró Foundation
- Montjuïc Funicular
How does this magic work (and why we say “almost” driverless)?
As we explained at the time , the vehicle is a Turkish model, the Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK, a 100% electric jewel (bravo for that!) with 300 km of autonomy and capacity for 52 passengers.
What’s really cool is its brain: a system called FLOWRIDE.IA (from the company ADASTEC) that gives it Level 4 autonomy. According to the official classification of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Level 4 is “High Driving Automation”.
That is, the bus can manage absolutely everything on its predefined route. It reads signals, detects pedestrians, brakes at traffic lights and dodges obstacles thanks to a host of sensors scattered throughout the chassis. It doesn’t need a human touching the steering wheel.
But here we come up against the DGT. Although the bus could go alone, current Spanish regulations (and common sense, for the moment) require that there must always be a “safety driver” on board. That is, a TMB driver, who has received specific training, sitting in the driver’s seat. He is not driving, but he is there, watching that the AI does not get creative and decide to take the stairs.
Although for us it is a novelty that blows our minds, this same bus model already circulates regularly in cities like Stavanger (Norway), covering a conventional route (also with a safety driver, of course).
